Wouldn’t you know it? I go to London and London is taking a trip to North America…
North American Landscape, Kew at the British Museum…“Travel up from the Florida swamps, through the Missouri prairie to the forests of New England and Canada – all without leaving London.” As you can see from the photos this was one of the very rainy days during our time in London, so my journey through the North American landscape was brief.
I do love the Tulip tree…
And that’s an impressive bog!
Unfortunately there were other parts of the exhibit that were also rather “bog like”…
I think more than one person almost lost a shoe in that goo, it was time to go inside where it was dry.
Probably the most impressive thing I saw during my visit to the British Museum were the huge Assyrian relief panels dating from 700-600 BC (“ish,” I’m rounding here after all this is not a history blog). I could have stared at them for hours; and in fact another visitor was doing just that. He had brought a chair and would spend about 20 minutes setting in front of each panel before moving on to the next. He wasn't taking notes, sketching, or photographing, just spending time absorbing it all.
I have to admit after awhile I did start to get overwhelmed, so I decided to turn it into a bit of a game and started to photograph the interesting representations of trees, vines and other plants. I am a sucker for graphic plant shapes.
Aren’t they amazing?
A warning, these next few pictures might upset the sensitive animal lovers out there. But I found the way the sheer muscle and power of the lions was depicted to be breathtaking.
The dogs were pretty gorgeous too.
After the British Museum closed we stopped in a few used bookstores, I figured in a country as obsessed with gardening as England is I would be in garden book paradise. Not so much. The best selection was here, at the Oxfam bookstore near the British Museum.
I came away with Foliage Plants, by Christopher Lloyd and Tales of Old Time Gardening by M. Patricia Collard. All in all, it was a very good day.
The amount of things to see at BM is colossal, it's easy enough to get museum-ed out. We have yet to see all of the areas open to the public despite having been several times, opting to see bits of it only each time. Shame it was rainy during your visit there. On previous years the display outside were mostly xerophytes, depending on what area of the world they are featuring of course. The first book you bought sounds interesting btw, will check that one out.
ReplyDeleteAndrew spent a good 3 days at the BM (including the one with me) and I think he feels like he made a good dent. I really couldn't believe how big that place was.
DeleteI'd been looking for a used copy of that Christopher Lloyd book for awhile, glad to have finally found it!
Those relief panels are fascinating. The way they managed to get muscle definition into a stone carving... So funny that they were featuring North American plants in the landscape outside.
ReplyDeleteI know, could they have done anything less exotic for my one time visit? (I know...all about me right?).
DeleteI dearly love seeing the Assyrian relief panels! The detail on the dog is very impressive. I think I could stare at them all day too. I'd love to have copies to place on a garden wall.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Ragna
You're so welcome Ragna, glad you enjoyed them. Hope maybe you can see them in person someday!
DeleteThanks for sharing another fabulous day of your vacation with us! How hospitable of the British Muesum to import your native landscape to make you feel at home. The Assyrian reliefs are amazing!
ReplyDeleteWell when you put it that way I have to agree. Only they forgot the desert plants!
DeleteNice to see that Kew is doing installations at the British Museum, and I dearly hope you you intend to post about Kew Gardens themselves! There is something so compelling about the Assyrian reliefs - they manage to be so flat AND yet so voluptuous at the same time. They are certainly a step up from than the last exhibit I remember seeing there many years ago on the history of bathrooms and toilets...
ReplyDeleteYes I do Jane...starting tomorrow! I took so many pictures at the Kew I can't wait to share them.
DeleteBathrooms and toilets? I guess someone thought that sounded like a good idea...
Good choice on a rainy day, which can be just about any day in London.
ReplyDeleteThe panels are fascinating both in the design as well as the quality of the work. Interesting to see they had deer in their gardens too. I mostly remember the mummies, it seemed like thousands were on display.
Isn't it interesting what we all take away? We were talking to someone just last week who went on about the mummies and neither one of us had paid them much attention.
DeleteHey, welcome to the UK. I live here and still have never made it to Kew. I keep meaning to go, maybe next year I will finally get there.
ReplyDeleteOh Liz yes, you should go! So much is under glass too that it would be a great place to visit in winter to boost your spirits!
DeleteLet me know when you're ready to see Missouri prairies...
ReplyDeleteYou just never can tell, Andrew keeps threatening to drag me to Nebraska so I can see where he's from, and I'd love to make the trip sometime. He tells a hilarious story about a visit to St Louis gone wrong. Let's just say he got lost in a rough part of town.
DeleteFun! on those panels I can see some Phoenix dactylifera! epic! When I was at the British Museum I think it was plants of Australia! Ubber fun!
ReplyDeletePlants of Australia would have been fabulous and I would have definitely braved the rain for them!
DeleteThe reliefs are very/so beautiful. Impressive bed of pitcher plants too. Awesome pics as per usual! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat bog of the pitcher plants was amazing! So huge and they all looked so healthy.
DeleteThose relief panels are incredible. Thank you for including them! So, do house plants really count as gardening?
ReplyDeleteWell since a lot of my containers move indoor for the winter thus making them "houseplants" I'm going to have to say that yes...they kind of do. Kind of. It's really all in how you approach the thing.
DeleteI am lucky enough to work just around the corner from the British Museum and can pop in for a look around over lunch. The yearly Kew link up is always fun, although I think last years South African landscape with all the aloes was much better.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have seen the South African landscape...and how lucky are you to have the British Museum at your disposal. I that would be my husband's dream come true (especially with Wagamama so close too!)
DeleteSo now we have been reduced to a sub-continent? News to me.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you're the only one that caught that, including me.
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