Tag Archives: roses

Favorite Photos From Descanso Gardens, December 2018!

Purple Flowers
All Photos By Gail

On my last full day in California, I spent a couple of late afternoon hours strolling through the very beautiful Descanso Gardens, a 150-acre botanical garden located in the La CaƱada Flintridge area of Los Angeles. The daylight was already starting to fade, but I got some good shots of the many varieties of gorgeous flowers that are still blooming even in late December. Enjoy!

Camellia Bush

Descanso is well-known for their signature pink Camellias, of which there are numerous varieties.

Pink and White Camellia

Of course, I love anything that is pink. This one has a tiny wound on one petal, but its beauty is unspoiled.

Pink Camellia

Pink and White Camellia

You would almost think you are in Hawaii when you see flowers like this!

Prismatic Star

For the Holiday season, Descanso hosts a special evening event called Enchanted Forest of Light, which competes with the numerous Chinese Lantern Festivals going on at the LA Zoo, the LA Arboretum, and elsewhere. This prismatic star is just one of the many added features that help to transform the nighttime garden into fantasy wonderland for this always sold-out event!

Prismatic Shape in Garden

I’m guessing that this prism is illuminated from within once the sun sets.

Red and Peach Roses

While the beds are not necessarily lush at this time of year, the Roses are still in bloom and looking good!

Red and White Rose

Pale Pink Rose

I love how the petals of this delicate pink bloom are almost translucent.

African Daisy

This flower is called an African Daisy.

Yellow Snapdragon

These Yellow Snapdragons have a tiny visitor!

Yellow Chrysanthemums

Yellow Chrysanthemums!

Red Thistle

Red Thistles – gorgeous!

Daffodils

Daffodils!

Pink Berries

I don’t know the proper name of this tropical-looking plant with its tiny pink berries, but I have seen one like it at the NYBG in the Bronx.

Blue Purple Iris

Purple Irises!

Descanso Gardens is Located at 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011.

New Plate Paintings By Julian Schnabel at Pace Gallery

Rose Painting Near Van Goghs Grave
Rose Painting Near Van Gogh’s Grave By Julian Schnabel (All Photos By Gail)

Confession: Julian Schnabel is not an artist whose work I particularly admire. To me, his stuff almost always seems uninspired,Ā phoned in, and, well, just plain ugly. Ā I do not think that I’m alone in that opinion. Schnabel’s latest exhibit,Ā  New Plate Paintings, which is his first solo show at Pace Gallery since leaving Gagosian, is a collection of nearly-identical variations on a Ā theme: paintings depicting pink roses on a bed of greenery, which is notable for being painted on a relief of broken dishes mounted on the canvas.

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Video Clip of The Week: Roses, “Nude Beach”

A primary reason that I chose “Nude Beach,” by California-based pop trio Roses, for this week’s Video Clip, is specifically because the video contains no nudity! Yeah, they didn’t take the easy way out with a bunch of lazy nudity, that’s for sure. Instead, the first half of the video shows the guysĀ  (their namesĀ Juan Velasquez, Victor Herrera,Ā and Marc Steinberg) peeking out from behind leafy branches in a lush garden, or laying in beds of flowers, over music that fondly brings both The Smiths and Depeche Mode to mind. Marc’s sultry vocals address a figure who is addicted to sunbathing, but they also speak to a larger acknowledgment of our own mortality and within that realization urge us to take risks. Maybe that is why I felt like I was watch a commercial for reruns of Six Feet Under. Or maybe not.
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A Visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden!

Fountain of Flowers
All Photos By Gail

It was a complete accident that Geoffrey and I ended up making a pit stop at the gorgeous Brooklyn Botanic Garden as part of a recent trip to visit the Brooklyn Museum. It wasn’t until we were on the train that I noticed (for the first time, ever) that the Eastern Parkway Stop off the 2 and 3 is also the stop for the BBG, so I suggested to Geoffrey that we “See how far away it is from the museum” once we got out of the subway. What we discovered, much to our ecstatic delight, is that the Garden is literally right next to the Museum. It could not possibly have been more conveniently located. Even better, Geoffrey’s work ID card got us in for free, and since we had no strict agenda to follow, we spent over an hour exploring nature as a prelude to some hardcore, art-viewing action. It was an amazing day!

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Recap: Summer Food FĆŖte 2014!

Food Fete Room Shot
All Photos By Gail

Food FĆŖte’s exciting summer season return to the Metropolitan Pavilion event space on West 18th Street was all abuzz with sumptuous product offerings that ranged from Bacon, Butter and Bourbon to Cheese, Chocolates and Chips! If you didn’t make it to the party, here’s a glimpse of what you missed!

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