Dec 3 2023 - Poinsettias then vs now

 

Poinsettias?  Then vs Now.  How did Poinsettias get into Christmas?  It happened in Mexico where Franciscan monks began using the red-flowered shrub in the Nativity processions.  This is around the time that the Mexican legend of Pepita and the “Flowers of the Holy Night” began, forever tying the red and green shrub to Christmas folklore." "As legend has it, a young girl named Pepita was traveling to her village to visit the Nativity scene at the chapel. Pepita did not have enough money to buy a present to give the baby Jesus at the services, so she gathered a bundle of roadside weeds and formed a bouquet. She was upset that she didn’t have more to offer, but she was reminded by her cousin that “even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.” Upon entering the chapel and presenting her bouquet to the Nativity Jesus, the bouquet of roadside weeds miraculously turned into a bouquet of beautiful red flowers that the locals knew as Cuetlaxochitl."   The Germans described the plant in 1834.  During that time Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced the flowers to the United States. He was a founder of the Smithsonian Institute and a botanist. Its common names were Mexican flame flower and painted leaf. Botanically today it is a Euphorbia Pulcherrima. Poinsettia came about with Poinsett's promotion of it in the U.S. The great producer and developer of Poinsettias was Paul Ecke Sr. He developed the first poinsettia plants that could be grown indoors in grow pots. He began selling them at roadside stands in Hollywood, California. In 1923, he founded the Ecke Ranch, and he and his sons and grandson, maybe great-grandson by now were dominant players. Ecke Sr. developed techniques for grafting two varieties together to make a bushy, attractive plant.  In the late 1980s university researcher John Dole discovered this grafting method and published it, ruining the Ecke monopoly.  But not dampening their spirit as I could see their name on hybrids in trials around 2014.  I looked through the Selecta Morth America fact sheet and there are hundreds of individual hybrids and series upon series of plants.   It has been an exciting time since the 1990s if you really like Poinsettias.   These are the Poinsettia trials at Vineland Research Station quite a few years ago.  You can see the hybridizers - Selecta and Ecke. Below that is Linwell Gardens - Poinsettias as far as you can see.

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Dec v5 2021 - StoryPeople vs FlyingEdna

 

Something got my attention about StoryPeople and I knew there must be a complicated story here.  There definitely is. It started out as StoryPeople by Brian Andreas.  He and his wife, Ellen Rockne created the business in the 1990s. A promotional approach for his art is a free email subscription to the story of the day - a short story/poem (50 to 100 words) with a beautifully coloured and creatively drawn image.  Always heartfelt and caring in the world based on a sense of "magic in everything".  This was a tremendously successful business - books, art works, apparel, sculptures, ornaments and so on.  They were represented in over 200 galleries in the US, with more in the UK.  Andreas had been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his books.  There's a lot of success here. But go to the StoryPeople link and it isn't Brian Andreas anymore.  It is now run by his former wife and sons.  It is known as "The Brothers Andreas, Gabriel and Matthew, the newest generation of StoryPeople." "Raised by unconventional parents, they are well-suited for making things out of words and music and movement and color. They share a tendency to vacillate between existential despair and a wild, lilting hope that everything is going to turn out okay. Gabe makes our new stories, and Matthew creates the artwork. Who knew when they were little guys that they would end up being such seamless collaborators?" So what happened? Acrimonious divorce that took 9 years to complete. There was a lot of money at stake. Assets and investments were secretly held by Andreas and not disclosed.  Huge tax liabilities in the millions were not paid over a number of years.  More legal activities took place and eventually the assets/rights of StoryPeople became Ellen Rockne's and not Kai Skye's.   That explains how at one point, two emails a day started coming - one from StoryPeople and the other from Kai Skye now known as FlyingEdna, inviting me to hop on over there now.  Andreas had changed his name from Brian Andreas (he refers to this as his pen name) to Kai Skye and gained a new life partner, Wendy Saver, now known as Fia Skye.   I remember that Kai Skye denounced the divorce settlement in his story of the day emails. This was a few years ago. Fellow artists have defended him and decried the loss of intellectual property rights.  His  art purchasers and appreciators have publicly supported him as well.   But there is this quiet link on the StoryPeople website HERE.  It has the full text of the divorce decision at Appeals Court and the text of Brian Andreas lawsuit against his sons over a trust set up for them.  Why would they want this to be known? It describes Brian Andreas  diverting funds, his activities concealing assets and attempts to secretly undermine StoryPeople. The reading of the judgement is fascinating and contains a lot of information about Brian Andreas/Kai Skye's personality and behaviour.   So there is our complicated story.  Here is one of Kai Skye's own poems: “Brian Andreas Promise #1: Promises to Myself #1: I will tell the truth unless I get confused & I think I could get in real trouble if someone found out, in which case, I will lie as convincingly as possible for as long as I feel the need.”  ― Brian Andreas A Christmas story today for our picture.  It could be one of Skye's poems.

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Wherefrom that Surname of Lightfoot

I wondered what the origin of Gordon Lightfoot's surname is.  We watched the documentary about him last night. The surname is derived from Old English and means light foot and likely an occupation as a messenger. The Lightfoot migration to Canada can be traced to Henry Lightfoot landing in Nova Scotia in 1749.  A subsequent record indicates Richard Lightfoot came to St. John NB in 1784. A Lightfoot family was aboard the ship "billow" in 1833.  Gordon Lightfoot has a busy tour schedule that shows dates into October 2020.  He was born in November 1938, so over 80 years old now. That makes another folk-rock/country music musician/composer who is still active.  Here we are at Christmas with the Poinsettias about to arrive at the Fantasy of Trees display.  What a comparison with the American  experience where Thanksgiving has yet to arrive. I found a few abstracts from past years to remind us of the textures and shapes of their 'leaves/petals'.

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Poinsettias in Niagara

Today's pictures traverse the landscape of the Poinsettia.  I went to Sunshine Express yesterday, and the sky was perfect with filtered overcast light so that the saturation was at an all-time high.  It seemed almost blinding to be in the greenhouse with the endless sea of reds, whites, and pinks, and even the orange ones.  These leaves show the lines and textures - puckered and billowy with wonderful colours. There appear to be no Poinsettia jokes for Christmas - I guess we take our plants seriously or not at all.  Here's the start of the Christmas humour:   Entering Heaven Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates. "In honor of this holy season," Saint Peter said, "You must each possess something that symbolizes  Christmas to get into heaven." The first man fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. "It represents a candle," he said. "You may pass through the pearly gates," Saint Peter said. The second man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, "They're bells." Saint Peter said, "You may pass through the pearly gates." The third man started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's glasses. St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, "And just what do those symbolize?" The man replied, "They're Carol's."

Cross Town

I was looking for information on how Christmas has so many colours associated with it.  There's the red and green, blue, and white for snow.  I came upon this overview of  crosses and thought it was interesting.  Some of the crosses are so complicated in their meaning. We return to our simpler world of the Christmas season and our pictures today are Centennial Greenhouses' Christmas display.  They are located in the west end of Toronto.   The Cross symbolises that Christians believe Jesus Christ died for everyone on a Cross. The Latin Cross, also sometimes called the Roman Cross. The base of the Cross has three steps that symbolise faith, hope, and love. The Irish or Celtic Cross is a normal cross with a circle in the middle to symbolise eternity. The Triumphant Cross represents the earth with the cross on top. It symbolises Jesus is triumphant over anything we can face in the world. The Jerusalem Cross was worn by the crusaders going to Jerusalem, in the middle ages. It can symbolise the Four Gospels in the Bible, the spread of the Gospel to the four corners of the earth or the five wounds of Jesus when he died on the cross. The Eastern Cross is the Suppedaneium cross with three horizontal crossbeams,  The top represents the plate inscribed with INRI, and the bottom, a footrest. There is more complexity to the story at wikipedia's orthodox cross entry  The Furca or Upsilon Cross comes from the Greek letter Y . It is also called The Thieves' Cross from the two robbers who were crucified on each side of Jesus. It also symbolises the choice between good and evil.

Poinsettia Madness

A visit to Sunshine Nurseries last week was a feast of poinsettias.  As far as you can see are stripes of red, white, pink - all the colours and varieties of poinsettias imaginable. There are three locations for poinsettia trials in North America - Florida, South Carolina and Niagara.  This year it is taking place at Linwell Gardens, one of the growers.  Last year it took place at Vineland Research Station and there was a great public showing and voting. There are over 160 varieties on trial this year, and I hope to see them on Monday afternoon when I interview Wayne Brown, the chair of the activity.

What About Our Christmas Traditions!

Our Christmas Traditions
Today we celebrate Christmas traditions - not our own, but those we might not know about.

In Japan, the vast majority is not Christian, yet there is a celebrated Christmas tradition - a trip to KFC and the greeting "Kentucky for Christmas".

In the Ukraine, they will sometimes decorate their trees with spider webs. This is based on a Ukrainian folk tale of a widow's family so poor they had no money to decorate their tree.  A spider took pity on them and spun a web in gold and silver around the tree.

In Iceland it is "Beware the Yule Cat" - a Christmas fiend that terrorizes the countryside targeting those who didn't receive new clothes for Christmas.

In the Czech Republic, carp is the celebrated Christmas dinner. This is followed by the saving of a dried (cleaned) scale from the Christmas fish which is kept in one's wallets for luck over the coming year.

Have a great Christmas Day today.

Poinsettia Trials - Pick your favourite!

December 5th was a great day for both the gardener and photographer in me.  Grimsby is very close to the Vineland Research Station and it had its Poinsettia evaluation open house yesterday.  They grow poinsettias for evaluation by the commercial trade to find new and better poinsettias for market.  There are only a few places where the poinsettia trials take place, so it great to be invited to vote on our favourites so that they get a sense of what is popular with the public.

What would make a better poinsettia?  It would be things like: One that grows straight up so that the branches don't break off when you take it out of the plastic sleeve.  One that has lots of coloured petals to make a big show.  One that grows quickly to come to market sooner.  

So there I was with Brian, my brother, who is the lily hybridizer, going from plant to plant looking at the differences and improvements.  I saw so many fellow gardeners too - it was a wonderful event.  

Check out Vineland Research at: 

http://www.vinelandresearch.com

There's a cogeco video at:

http://www.vinelandresearch.com/news/poinsettias-research

Here are some of the highlights:

Christmas Displays So Wonderful

This is the lovely display at Centennial Gardens in the west end of Toronto.  Every year there's a living plant display.  This year it looks like a Gingerbread House or Hansel and Gretel's home.  Every season has its floral strength and the Christmas Conservatory is a great experience for those of us who live in snowy climates.

Poinsettias Are Here

This is their only month here in the Norther Hemisphere.  Known for their Christmas status, they lose favour quickly after the holiday passes.  

However, for this short time, they rule as the King and Queen of flowers.  Here are a few selections of the display at Centennial Greenhouses in Toronto, along with a scene of the  traditional display of dried fruits and pine cones. 

Niagara Poinsettias - A Commercial Crop

Now that I live in the Niagara region, I can visit the commercial greenhouses.  Both Sunshine on Carlton Street and Seaway on the Lakeshore are retail/commercial combinations.  They welcome visitors and it is possible to see the poinsettias as they mature from little plugs to mature specimens.  Here are two of the view yesterday.  These are sections of the greenhouses.  There is no easy way to capture the full impact of all these poinsettias.

Christmas Season

It's time for beautiful poinsettias and wintery images.  Here are a few for the holiday season.

Loving those Christmas Poinsettias at Centennial Park Conservatory

Centennial Park Conservatory in the west end of Toronto (Renforth and Rathburn area) seems to always have the best display of the most unusual Poinsettias.  This year too!  The new hybrid is a luscious two toned red and pink version.  

This year's new flower:

Tropical mist and poinsettias seem to go splendidly together on a snowy day.

A Little More Christmas

Allan Gardens is no ordinary garden. It is situated in the heart of Toronto and is more than 150 years old. The garden and the main part of the property was donated by George William Allan, a one-time Mayor of Toronto and long-time Senator.

The park, one of the city's oldest (since 1858), is bounded by Jarvis Street on the west, Sherbourne Street on the east, Carlton Street on the north and Gerrard Street East on the south in Toronto's Garden District. In the centre of the park is a Victorian conservatory known as the Palm House, built in 1909 to replace the pavilion burned in 1902. Rare tropical plants from all over the globe are nurtured inside. Admission is free. 

The trees in the park represent the northern tip of the Carolinian forest with species such as black cherry, American beech, red oak, sugar maple and sassafras. Most are over one hundred years old. The park is home to three varieties of squirrel, the gray, the black, and, unique to this park, the red tailed black squirrel. The park is also home to the city's largest flock of pigeons, a roving peregrine falcon and a statue of Robert Burns. The University of Toronto greenhouse (1931) was moved to the site.

Christmas Countdown - Stroll through a Christmas Garden

Here's the Christmas display in Allan Garden's Conservatories, with its Poinsettias and tropical plants and flowers.