Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus Pyrus, in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks (petioles) of species and hybrids of Rheum in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The plant is a herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. Historically, different plants have been called "rhubarb" in English. The large, triangular leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and anthrone glycosides, making them inedible. The small flowers are grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-red inflorescences.
The pineapple is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae.
A greenhouse is a special structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass and block it as heat. The most common materials used in modern greenhouses for walls and roofs are rigid plastic made of polycarbonate, plastic film made of polyethylene, or glass panes. When the inside of a greenhouse is exposed to sunlight, the temperature increases, providing a sheltered environment for plants to grow even in cold weather.
The Jardin des Plantes, also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris when distinguished from other jardins des plantes in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present day, but it is in fact an elliptical form of Jardin Royal des Plantes Médicinales, which is related to the original purpose of the garden back in the 17th century.
Broderie perse is a style of appliqué which uses printed motifs from one fabric to create a design on a background fabric. It was popular in the late 18th century and early 19th centuries. The technique could be considered an early form of puzzle piecing.
Chinoiserie is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theatre, and music. The aesthetic of chinoiserie has been expressed in different ways depending on the region. It is related to the broader current of Orientalism, which studied Far East cultures from a historical, philological, anthropological, philosophical, and religious point of view. First appearing in the 17th century, this trend was popularized in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China and the rest of East Asia.
An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either a conservatory or greenhouse built to house fruit trees, or a conservatory or greenhouse meant for another purpose.
The Dunmore Pineapple is a folly in Dunmore Park, near Airth in Stirlingshire, Scotland. In 1995 it was ranked "as the most bizarre building in Scotland".
The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for growing edible plants and often some medicinal plants, especially historically. The plants are grown for domestic use; though some seasonal surpluses are given away or sold, a commercial operation growing a variety of vegetables is more commonly termed a market garden. The kitchen garden is different not only in its history, but also its functional design. It differs from an allotment in that a kitchen garden is on private land attached or very close to the dwelling. It is regarded as essential that the kitchen garden could be quickly accessed by the cook.
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, commonly known as the flower pot parasol, yellow parasol, flowerpot parasol, or plantpot dapperling, is a species of gilled mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. It is common in the tropics and subtropics. However, in temperate regions, it frequently occurs in greenhouses and flowerpots, hence its common names of flowerpot parasol and plantpot dapperling. It is considered to be toxic if consumed.
The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken are a vast complex of monumental heated greenhouses in the park of the Royal Palace of Laeken, Belgium. The historic complex contains tropical, subtropical and cold greenhouses, and is home to the famous Royal Botanic Collection, which includes large collections of camellias, orange trees and many plants originating from the African parts of the former Belgian Empire.
Alida Withoos was a Dutch botanical artist and painter. She was the daughter of the painter Matthias Withoos.
Albert Eckhout (c.1610–1665) was a Dutch portrait and still life painter. Eckhout, the son of Albert Eckhourt and Marryen Roeleffs, was born in Groningen, but his training as an artist and early career are unknown. A majority of the works attributed to him are unsigned. He was among the first European artists to paint scenes from the New World. He was in the entourage of the Dutch governor-general of Brazil, Johan Maurits, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, who took him and fellow painter Frans Post to Dutch Brazil to have them record the country's landscape, inhabitants, flora and fauna. Eckhout is also famous for his still-life paintings of Brazilian fruits and vegetables. His paintings were intended for decoration in a domestic context.
Leucocoprinus is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Its best-known member is the distinctive yellow mushroom Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, which is found in plant pots and greenhouses worldwide. The type species is Leucocoprinus cepistipes. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains over 80 recognised species, however many of these species are very scarcely recorded and little known with only a small number of Leucocoprinus species which are commonly observed. The majority of the species in this genus are exclusive to tropical environments however numerous species have become a common sight in plant pots and greenhouses resulting in them becoming well known worldwide.
Pteridomania or fern fever was a Victorian craze for ferns. Decorative arts of the period presented the fern motif in pottery, glass, metal, textiles, wood, printed paper, and sculpture, with ferns "appearing on everything from christening presents to gravestones and memorials".}
Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the Tulipa genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloured blotch at the base of the tepals, internally. Because of a degree of variability within the populations and a long history of cultivation, classification has been complex and controversial. The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium, and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae.
Agnes, or Agneta Block was a Dutch art collector and horticulturalist. She is most remembered as the compiler of an album of flower and insect paintings and as one of the first Europeans to successfully cultivate and fruit the pineapple outside of its native habitat.
Corded quilting is a decorative quilting technique popular from the late 17th through the early 19th centuries. In corded quilting, a fine fabric, sometimes colored silk but more often white linen or cotton, is backed with a loosely woven fabric. Floral or other motifs are outlined in parallel rows of running stitches or backstitches to form channels, and soft cotton cord is inserted through the backing fabric using a blunt needle and drawn along the quilted channels to produce a raised effect. Tiny quilting stitches in closely spaced rows fill the motifs and provide contrast to the corded outlines.
The Creole garden or jardin de case is a multi-strata, multi-use agroforestry system common in French Guiana, the West Indies and Réunion, intended for the production of fruit and vegetables and characterised by the association of a large diversity of different plant species, forming several vegetation layers, from herbaceous plants to trees. It blends Amerindian civilisation with the history of European colonisation; of plots given to enslaved people to support themselves, self-sufficient Maroon settlements and of Chinese and Indian immigration to the West Indes, all of which contribute to the form and purpose of the garden.
