The P Word

This morning I went to  GR Detectives Day at the GR Public Library, which included six speakers delving into specific and unusual aspects of GR architecture and history. Tom Dilley, a very popular local historian, talked specifically of Egyptian Revival Art in GR's Oak Hill Cemetery. In his discussion, Dilley repeatedly referenced symbols and icons of Papyrus, and every time he said it, I flinched.

For a graphic designer, "Papyrus" is the dirtiest of all the dirty words. It's one step past "Clip Art". But I knew Dilley wasn't saying it to torture me, clearly there was another form of Papyrus out there....

Ancient Egypt was perhaps the first country to recognize national plants. These were the Lotus (water lily) and Papyrus, which symbolized Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively. 

The lotus and papyrus plants both symbolized the waters of Nun, from which the Egyptians believed life began. The papyrus, which grew in thickets along the Nile, became the symbol of fertility and life itself. As such, fresh papyrus stalks became a part of the offerings that the deceased took to the grave, and stylized papyrus stalks, with their sweeping flower umbels, were commonly used in architecture design.

 

The plant itself is much less offensive than the font, and given the proper climate, I'd consider adding it to my yard - though in the US the plant has proven to be somewhat invasive... how odd... that kinda sounds like the other Papyrus we know and hate...

You can read much much more indepth descirption of the flowers role in Eygptian art and sybolism at touregypt.net

Gardening Indoors

Now that Fall is upon us, I'm packing the garden in and gearing up for a long winter without from my yard's bountiful blooms. To bring a little (low maintenance) life into the house, I've picked up some tiny terrariums from Bird and Feather.

The glass bobble terrariums contain stones, (non-living) moss and air plants. Air plants need very little water, and are maintained by dunking the whole plant under water every few days. They have little to no roots, and simply sit on top of the stones.

I initially planned to hang the planters, but after going through the process of installing hooks, I thought they were hard to seen when hung and I liked them as a focal point and a centerpiece better. Chances are, these green guys will make their way around the house, bringing life to different rooms during different seasons. 

Bird and Feather is run by a sweet couple right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Quite often they can be found at the Fulton Street Farmer's Market on the weekends. Otherwise, their plants can also be picked up at Have Company on Division. 

In the Presence of Greatness

I love surprises. So it was a pleasant happenstance when we were hiking near Huntsville, Alabama and stumbled across a State Champion Tupelo Tree.

Now, I'm not making this up. While Tupelo's sound like, and kind of look like, something out of a Seussian world, they actually grow in the Southeastern US and are more commonly referred to as a sourgum tree.

They sit, with their comically wide base in water, thriving in wet soil, swamps and flooded areas. In fact, their genus name, Nyssa means Greek Water Nymph

But not only is this a cool tree species that we'd discovered, but we were also face-to-trunk with a Champion. I didn't even know there was Tree Champions, but boy do I feel honored to have met one.