I Simply Remember These Favorite Things with Dr. A, February 2024
February 2024
A Plant:
Pineapple lily – Eucomis
Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’
The pineapple lilies are available as bulbs from your favorite online shop, and occasionally from a good garden center. One of the oldest and still one of the best is ‘Sparkling Burgundy’, sporting deep purple leaves and burgundy flowers.
However, there are a good many choices out there, try ‘Tegula Ruby’ or ‘Reuben’if you can find them. Order them now.
Pineapple lilies are supposedly only cold hardy to USDA Zone 6b, but that didn’t stop the creative gardeners in Buffalo, NY, from planting them in containers and enjoying them all summer. They had to be brought in, but then so did dahlias and citrus.
A Garden:
Atlanta Botanical Garden
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a relative newcomer to the national botanical scheme. From a small start out of a double-wide trailer in 1976, the ABG is now a must-visit botanical garden. The conservatory is next to none; the gardens are brilliant, and the special events—from Mosaiculture displays to Dale Chihuly glassworks to their Christmas lights extravaganza — are truly spectacular. A visit to this world-class city should never be concluded without a visit to this world-class botanical garden.
A Book:
The Wager, a tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder
Author: David Grann
Non-Fiction. I am always fascinated with history, particularly history of ships on the oceans. Leaving England in 1740, The Wager was part of an English fleet secretly hunting Spanish galleons during an imperial war with Spain. That they shipwrecked was not surprising, given the ferocious oceans they traversed, the incompetency of the crew and the woeful repair of the ship.
However, the book tells of the tales of the survivors, two separate groups found in 1742 with totally different stories, tales of shipwreck, mutiny and murder. This will keep you riveted, and when you read the last page, you will agree that truth is stranger than fiction.
David Grann is a wonderful author. His last book, Killers of the Flower Moon is also excellent and has been made into a movie.
A Show:
The Boys in the Boat
I was going to choose this as the Book of the Month, but then we went to see the movie. Seldom is a movie as good as the book, but this was close, and it followed the book very well. Even if you have not read the book, you will enjoy this true story.
The story centers on a bunch of struggling young men at the height of the Depression who earned a spot on the 1936 University of Washington rowing team. Rowing at that time attracted tens of thousands of fans, and the movie follows the team from their first trials to challenging the elite eastern schools like Yale and Cornell. Their determination earned them the chance to compete in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin under the intent glare of the Nazi movement and Adolf Hitler. And the rest, they say, is history.
Grab the book or see the movie; they are both stirring and memorable.
A Place:
Island of Burano, Italy
One day, you will finally get to visit Venice, where you will revel in the lagoons, the canals, and the gondolas. You will love Piazza San Marco and enjoy walking the narrow streets.
But do not miss the wonderful island of Burano, a 45-minute water taxi ride out of Venice. Burano is known for its exquisite lace, a quickly dying art on this small island, and its brightly colored homes. Quaint is an overused word, but with the colored houses (Burano’s nickname is the Rainbow Isle), the small shops, the canals, and the friendly people, it is off-the-charts quaint.
Enjoy Italy, have a grand time in Venice, but buy some lace in Burano and eat some pasta in one of the many picturesque restaurants.