Author Archives: carolinemmurray

Plant of the Month: January 2020

Posted on 04/01/2020 by carolinemmurray

One of the most mournful utterances you will hear from a gardener is: ‘I had one, but it died.’ Next up is, ‘I had one, but it doesn’t flower any more.’ This is the case, alas, with me and Iris … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tree of the Year

Posted on 02/01/2020 by carolinemmurray

In 2017 I took monthly photos of a particular tree @CUBotanicGarden, and in 2018 I did the same for a hedge. Neither sequence when laid end to end was in fact particularly inspiring, so in 2019 I went for one … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, Natural history | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Trollflötjen

Posted on 31/12/2019 by carolinemmurray

There are various reasons (excuses), some flimsier than others, for the long delay since I last put quill to vellum. First, there was the Mill Road Winter Fair, which took up all my spare time for several weeks; then there … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Museums and Galleries, Music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Titian to Rubens

Posted on 20/11/2019 by carolinemmurray

Unexpected (by me!) technical problems have necessitated putting a couple of blogs-in-preparation on the back burner, and output of verbiage in November has in any case taken second place to output of hedgehogs (105 and rising …) – do please … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas Is Coming …

Posted on 31/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

Not the words you necessarily want to hear on Hallowe’en, but I must just put in a plug for my stall at the (Cambridge) Mill Road Winter Fair, on Saturday 7 December. This year I have a pitch on Petersfield, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge | Tagged | 3 Comments

Francesco Cupani

Posted on 23/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

The Alpine House @CUBotanicgarden is pretty stunning at the moment, what with the cyclamen, autumn crocus and colchicums – do go and have a look! Among all the incredibly photogenic flowers, I came across Colchicum cupani, which compelled me finally … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, Italy, London, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Pills

Posted on 17/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

An appurtenance of any self-respecting apothecary’s shop was, it seems, a pill-tile. Made of pottery, and sometime lavishly decorated like that other essential, the pharmacy jar, it provided a flat, smooth surface on which to roll pills. The Fitzwilliam Museum … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Botany, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Painting Women

Posted on 11/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

I’m guessing that if you were to ask 100 random people to name an historical (as opposed to contemporary) female painter, some at least would answer ‘Artemisia Gentileschi’ (1593–?1654), who has been in the public eye (in the UK at … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

1687 and All That

Posted on 05/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

If Francesco Morosini is remembered worldwide today, it is probably for the collateral damage caused when a stray Venetian cannon ball hit the gunpowder store which the Turks had so thoughtfully placed in the Parthenon during the siege of Athens. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Immortal Peacock

Posted on 26/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

I first saw a real live peacock when I was quite young, in Victoria Park in the city where I was brought up. An area of grass and trees very close to the railway station, and therefore – in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Classics, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments