Orchids in Nashville, Tennessee

Lately I have been reading articles listing the advantages of walking. The health benefits are plentiful. With my monthly commutes between Nashville and Atlanta and the constant clearing of the two houses I have not been very active outdoors. Even though I live in a "walking area" of Nashville, the sidewalk is narrow and uneven. I have to constantly look at the ground to make sure I don't stumble. In addition many automobiles pass by and I am not keen to breathe motor exhaust pollution. Thinking of nicer surroundings for walking I remembered that when our younger daughter and family moved to Tennessee they took us to visit the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville. I looked them up and realized that Cheekwood is only 6 miles from my house or a short drive away. On February 10, 2023, I visited the gardens and became a member.

This is what Cheekwood says about their gardens: "Explore our Gardens - Cheekwood offers year-round beauty on an historic property with 55 acres of awe-inspiring gardens, expansive vistas and art. Visitors enjoy programming for all ages, exhibitions, family activities, and year-round festivals celebrating the four seasons. Within its thirteen distinct gardens and woodland sculpture trail, a wide variety of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees combine with rotating seasonal displays to provide a place for reflection and inspiration." Of course being early February there were few flowers to admire. At a distance I saw a tree with what I thought were some blossoms. It was a Pussy Willow tree (salix caprea) and its catkins (long, thin cluster of tiny, petalles flowers growing on some trees) were shining in the sun.

Next to it was a redbud tree already showing rosy pink blossoms. On the ground, some hellebores brought color among the fallen leaves.

Walking further on I saw a sign advertizing "Orchids in the Mansion."

I walked up the hill to the historic mansion to have a look. As you entered the mansion, the railing of the grand staircase in the foyer leading to the second floor was decorated with orchids.

White orchids were arranged in a bowl in a center table.

The 1930's Georgian-style mansion contains several rooms that have been restored with authentic furnishings. I'll visit them more thoroughly at a later date. This time my focus was directed to the orchids. Some of the historic rooms contained orchid arrangements.

The orchids were mostly exhibited in what they called the "loggia." But since it was enclosed in the second floor I would call it a classical "orangery," a tropical and tall conservatory place. As you entered you were totally surrounded by orchids... you were immersed in clouds of white and purple.

It was a harmony of orchids dripping down the ceiling,

climbing the walls,

resting on the ground, at eye level and everywhere in between... blooming orchids all around.

The predominantly white orchids were framed with tropical plants offering a diversity of texture to the arrangements.

But there were other shades of the Phalaenopsis or Moth orchids such as pink, light purple, yellow and striped coral or mixed with deep purple.

Leaving the gardens I recognized some star magnolias. Unfortunately they were framed with dark cryptomeria trees that did not look healthy - very brown and dead looking. There are many brown shrubs and trees all around Nashville now because of this past harsh dry and hot summer followed by unusually freezing days this winter.

After going back to Georgia for a couple of weeks I came back to Nashville this last week. Last Tuesday February 28, 2023, was very warm and sunny. It was close to 80 F (26.6 C) - a record breaker for Nashville, when in the west and north of the US they had and still have feet of snow and ice (although that is not good to have such warm weather as it is usually followed with storms and tornadoes; like yesterday, I lost power from early afternoon until this morning.) I went to have a last glimpse of the orchid exhibit before it closes tomorrow. The warm weather had made a difference in the gardens - it was a riot of spring flowers and trees in bloom everywhere. I went to the exhibit first and walked through the gallery to a couple more of the historic rooms.

The orchids were still looking very fresh. I had brought another Nikon camera and took more photos. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

On the grounds below the mansion, fragrant blue hyacinths were at the base of pink saucer magnolia trees.

Walking slowly toward the exit I encountered narcissus, flowering quinces, pink hyacinths and more pink magnolia trees in bloom. It was hard to believe we were in February and not already into spring.

Here and there were pockets of daffodils. I understand that 100,000 more daffodil bulbs were planted last fall. They should be in full bloom soon.

But already there was a small field of daffodils around the transparent, open stainless steel body sculpture by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa (born in 1955.) It is called Silent Music II, maybe as a nod to Nashville, the "Music City."

Driving out of the gardens I passed by the sign announcing the upcoming "Cheekwood in Blooms" from March to April. I'll come back with my cameras and take more photos of lovely flowers. Now it was time to renew and refresh myself with a small meal at an old-fashioned lunch spot.

Below is one last orchid, Orchid and Hummingbird, by Martin Johnson Head - American, 1819-1904.

What's in a name?

In my last couple of trips to my Georgia house I concentrated on cleaning out the garage which was totally full. It's almost empty now. But thousands of books are still there. When I pass by a bookshelf, I'll pick one up at random. As I leafed through a book of quotations, I read the well known Shakespeare's quotation from Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scene ii.) "What's in a name..."

The 4 1/2 hour drive back to Nashville gave me time to ponder on this quote and all its meanings ... roses...I had a rose garden in Georgia... I grew more than 150 rose cultivars: hybrid teas, floribunda, polyantha, a climber, a rambler, old-fashioned or heirlooom roses and grandiflora. One of my favorite roses was a strong tall bush, a grandiflora named Queen Elizabeth, with glorious pink blooms (as shown below.) I could see it from my kitchen window. It was introduced in 1954 to mark the Queen's coronation in 1953.

This royal rose was well named. My garden is long gone; now I just have a framed drawing of this regal rose. But maybe when I have more time I'll introduce this rose to my Nashville garden. I used to belong to the Deep South District of the Rose Society in Atlanta. At monthly meetings we would discuss roses and have a great time - I went there for years. Members were usually much older than me and came from every walk of life - we were united by our love of roses. It was a kind and fun crowd sharing rose information. I miss them. I still have the silver platter I won for 1st prize as a novice in the Atlanta Rose Show with my rose Mr. Lincoln.

"I don't know whether nice people tend to grow roses or growing roses makes people nice." (Roland A. Browne, American author.)

The names of my roses escaped me but last week I found a list of my roses. Below are top left The Peace Rose next to Dortmund (a rambler,) below left is Chrysler Imperial next to The Cherokee Rose, which is Georgia's official state "floral emblem."

In the Shakespeare's play, Juliet is telling Romeo that names are inconsequent and trivial. I take issue with this. Names are part of our identity, they influence us and how others perceive us. They can carry familial and cultural connections. Other people can make judgments or assumptions about us through our name. This reminds me that years ago, when I was expecting my first child, my husband told me that if the baby was a boy he liked the name Colin. The baby would be registered at the French Embassy as a French citizen through me, and then as a US citizen through my husband. The name of the child should sound fine in both languages and colin, in French, is a fish, a pollock, a cousin of the cod. The colin/pollock fish is popular with cooks because of its mild taste and flaky texture.

My grandparents came often to eat with us on Sundays in Paris and my mother would usually start the meal with a cold "colin" mayonnaise, as shown below.

I could not call my newborn a fish in French. Altough maybe with some French people who understand English, it might not sound so bad, but my French relatives did not speak English. Fortunately, our first baby was a girl (our second child was a girl as well.) In English, as well, names can be a problem, as I learnt at work. During my first ten years at Lockheed-Martin I was in charge of trainees coming to our plant to study our cargo aircraft the C-130 Hercules. My first duty when the trainees arrived was to draw a list of their names, birth dates, check their IDs or passports if they were from overseas so our Security Department could issue entrance badges to them. One time I made a list of Mexican trainees. I picked up the name of their country from their passports. As you can see from the picture below, it says "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" so I translated it as "United States of Mexico." Below map of Mexico overlaid on map of the USA.

Oh my! I received a telephone call from an irate Security Officer telling me that I had made a grave error in my document. He told me that only the United States of America can use the term "United States" and certainly not Mexico. He was returning my document and wanted me to correct the country's name. I was not sure what to call it. One of the Mexican trainees was standing near me and explained that they are aware of how defensive and possessive the USA is about the term "united states" and refuses for any other country to use it. He added that they translate it in English as the United Mexican States, placing the "united" first and "states" last to avoid hurting sensibilities here. So this is what I did. You see, names are important and can cause problems. Whatever one wishes to call the country of Mexico, it does have many states - 32 I believe. A photo of Mexico overlaid over Europe shows that it is a large country. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

Some countries are very strict about baby names; they even have laws on it. Denmark provides a list of 7,000 pre-approved names for parents to pick. If parents have another name in mind that is not on the list they will have to get special permission that will be reviewed by government officials. In Germany the first name must show the gender of the child, so you cannot use last names. The name must also be approved by the Standesamt (German Civil registration office.) If the name is not approved, you can appeal; if you lose you can submit another name and pay a fee. In Iceland the name has to be accepted by the "naming committee." It must contain letters in the Iceland alphabet and fit with the language, must be gender specific and won't embarrass the child in the future. In Sweden the Tax Agency has to approve the name, and it will be rejected if deemed not suitable. Portugal has banned the shortened versions of names as official names, so you can name you son Frederic but not Fred, and they also have a 4,000 list of prohibited names. In France, Napoleon Bonaparte created a law in 1803 showing which names were acceptable. In 1993 this law was repealed but if the registrar believes the chosen name could be damaging to the child's interest, he or she can refuse to confirm the name; the court needs to provide further consideration. But there are still banned names in France.

In 2015, a French couple wished to name their newborn girl "Nutella" afer the chocolate spread. (Photo above courtesy Imperial Sugar.) A judge denied their request stating that other children might mock her. The judge approved the name Ella instead (take it or not...) In France children cannot have the last name of a parent as a first name. Other names rejected were: Automne (fall in English) Joyeux (happy in English) Vanille (vanilla) Gentil (kind in English) Ravi (Indian name.) The name Manhattan was denied because it is the name of a known place. In the US I have heard people called after names of places, such as Lorraine (a French province) and its capital Nancy (a city) Rochelle (a French town by the sea) Chelsea (a London neighborhood) Paris (a capital) Africa (a continent) Asia, etc.

Most countries will not approve names that could be "detrimental to the child's interests" and have ratified the legally-binding international agreement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) adopted in 1989. It acknowledges that children have basic fundamental rights. You can read it here . It is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history with 194 countries having done so. Only three countries have not ratified this human treaty: Somalia, South Sudan and the United States of America. The US says that it could interfere in the private lives of families, such as discipline. But then I found out that Former President Jimmy Carter signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on July 17, 1980, and this treaty has never been ratified by the United States of America either. Could it be the reverse then, that the US state can interfere in the private lives of women? This treaty has been ratified by 189 countries. The countries that have not are: Iran, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga and the USA. But people can name their babies anything they wish here in this country.

Some US celebrities have given their poor children outrageous names - after cardinal points, seasons, colors, and more, such as Sage Moonblood, Audio Science, Bronx Mowgli, Denim and North. I found a list with appalling names given legally to US babies in 2022, such as Furious, Renegade, Billion, Luxury, Envy, Whiskey, Paradise, Exit, Handsome, Capone, Corleone (after the Godfather movie) Fairy, Rooster. How would you like to be named any of those? A name is powerful; it is an important part of our identity and should not be trivialized.

The top red rose was my winning Mr. Lincoln rose. I think "rose" is a good name for the flower, it is the same in French and English and calls to mind a delicate plant with lovely blooms and fragrance. If we changed the name of the rose to "cockroach" or "dung beetle" it might still smell as sweet as Juliet said, but would its image be as evocative and meaningful? No, let's keep calling it a rose, shall we?

Some French customs ... Noël and New Year

Already half of January is gone. I have to hurry up and send my good year wishes to my French family and friends before the end of the month. In France it is the custom to send cards of Bonne Année (New Year) meilleurs voeux (best wishes) during the month of January (not in December because that is considered bad luck.) The wishes have to be sent or given between the start of the New Year and January 31st. Along the years I have received many cards. I'll show some of them below. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

Very few Christmas cards are sent in France, it is not the tradition. They are very hard to find anyhow. Also I have never received cards from France with photographs of the senders like it is done here, more and more. Here I even received some from US businesses, such as from the man trimming my front yard grass (see below.)

My Muslim friends have sent me New Year greeting cards, too.

Usually most holiday stamps in France are just for a happy New Year and best wishes. Those stamps are not religious.

The French post office also issues Chinese lunar New Year stamps.

Another custom from the US which is not followed in France is the outdoor lightning and decorations on people's houses; however, most cities in France are decorarted during the holidays. (Photos below of Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg, Nimes and a town in Brittany.) Also in France you don't usually hear Christmas carols in the shops as you do here.

As you can see in the photos above there are many Christmas trees. Actually in France there are Christmas trees everywhere - from the largest cities to the smalles villages, and in city halls, church steps, public spaces, train stations, and of course shops. Below are some large Paris department stores during the holidays. Top left is Le Printemps, next to La Samaritaine, below left is the Galeries Lafayette next to the Bon Marché. (France is one of the least religious countries in Europe, with only 6% attending church, at least once a month.)

The reason is that Christmas trees are not considered religious in France. They are not called Christmas trees in French but arbres or sapins de Noël (trees or pine trees of Noël.) Noël is not a Christian word, but its origin is from the Gaulish language, even though the Catholic church tried hard to say it is from the Latin (!) You may not know too much about the Gaul Empire. In France, in my first grade elementary class, I learned that it was the origins of France.

We were always taught about "nos ancêtres les Gaulois" (our ancestors, the Gauls.) That saying is quite popular in France. Below is a map of the ancient Gaul Empire and a Paris restaurant named after it.

There are many books on that subject as well.

The Gauls became so popular in France that a brand of cigarettes is called "Gauloises." They came in different flavor, dark, blonde, light and menthol. I knew them well because my father was a chain smoker of the strong dark ones (he died of lung cancer at 65 years old.) Now it is written on the pack: "Nuit gravement à la santé" /seriously damages health. They were manufactured in France but young people don't smoke as much now or prefer American tasting, sweeter cigarettes. Since 2017 they have been made in Poland; however, the "menthol" flavor has been banned since 2020. Cigarettes are only sold in tobacco stores in France. Malboro are the most popular and cost 10 Euros a pack of 20 cigarettes ($11.)

The Gaulish warriors were fierce, tall and muscled. They excelled on the battlefield, terrifying their enemies with their famous "sacred fury." The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (between 30 and 60 BC) described the Gaul warriors thus: "The Gauls are tall of body, with skin moist and white. Their hair is blond not only by nature but also because they practice to increase artificially the peculiar nature of their coloring. Some of them shave off their beards, but others let them grow moderately. The nobles shave their cheeks, but let their mustaches grow freely so as to cover their mouths. They dress in astonishing clothes, tunics dyed in all colors ..." (Interesting to note that the Gauls/French already bleached their hair 600 years BC!.)

Vercingetorix was the Gaulish chieftain that we knew so well when were were children. He is considered the first national hero of France for his defense of our land. It is said even his enemies greatly admired him and feared him. He was tall, handsome, a charismatic leader and an inspiring public speaker. Below are two paintings about Vercingetorix and two French stamps commemorating him.

Napoleon III (1808-1873) a nephew of Napoleon I, greatly admired Vercingetorix. He paid with his own funds to have a statue of the warrior erected in central France, in Alesia, Burgundy (a site of a Gaulish battle.) The monument sculpted by Aimé Millet, erected in 1865, is in bronze and 22 feet tall. At its base is written: "La Gaulle unie, formant une seule nation, animée d’un même esprit, peut défier l’univers." (Gaul united, forming a single nation, animated by a common spirit, can defy the universe.") There are other statues of Vercingetorix, one of him riding a horse and made by Frédéric Bartholdi (1834-1904) the French sculptor who designed the Statue of Liberty, now in the USA.

Napoleon III insisted that all schools curriculum should start with the history of Gaul. He was the first President of France from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870, also the last monarch to rule over France. The Gauls spoke the Gaulish language which became extinct by 1000 AD. Quite a large number of French words came from Gaulish, such as brave/bragos, brosse (brush)/bruskia, cheval (horse)/caballos, manteau (coat)/mantion, sapin (pine tree)/sappos. And we are back to our fir tree with Noël coming from the Gaulish "noio" (nouveau-new) and "hel" (soleil-sun.) More than a thousand years before the Christian era the Gauls had a pagan festival around our December 24, at the time of the winter solstice. It lasted for a week or so. The spruce, tree of birth and symbol of life, was linked to this festival to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun. It was then decorated with fruits, fllowers and wheat. This evergreen tree was a picea abies, or European spruce, shown below around a lake in France and on a botanical plate of 1885.

In 336, under Emperor Constantine, the Church in Rome chose December 25 to celebrate the birth of Christ. It may have been a PR gesture for dethroning the centuries old solstice pagan festival which took place on Dec. 24/25 and replacing it with a Christian referent. It was also to take advantage of this well established pagan festival; people were given a Christian alternative to the pagan festivities. Eventually many of the pagan symbols and actions were re-interpreted in ways acceptable to Christian faith and practice, including the date and name of the festival. All countries switched to these Christian names but not Gaul/France. France kept the name of Noël from the ancient pagan festival and the name of its tree, the only country to do so. Till now they refer to it as Noël and le sapin de Noël (the pine tree of Noël.)

Some old French tree of Noël traditions: in 1521, in Sélestat in Alsace (the town where my grandfather was born and raised and under the German Empire at that time,) a fir tree in the city square was decorated with paper flowers and sweets. Later they added candles (walnut shells filled with oil) chocolate and garlands. The city of Sélestat is celebrated as the capital of the arbre de Noël in France, tradition born there is 1521. In 1738, Marie Leszczynska (daughter of the King of Poland,) wife of Louis XV, King of France, had a Christmas tree installed in the Palace of Versailles, helping to spread the fashion for the decorated tree throughout France. (Photos below: Sélestat cradle of Noël, a stamp, Marie Queen of France, and Sélestat in summer.)

But another country has a secular holiday fir tree - they call it Yolka. After the Russian Revolution, Christmas celebrations were banished in the Soviet Union. In 1935 they replaced it with a secular New Year holiday with a New Year fir tree called "yolka." There were celebrations and gift giving. The Kremlin gave a special New Year party for children with clowns, gifts, dances, songs and more (and I think they still do.)

New Year with decorated yolka tree, gift exchanging, celebrations and singing have survived till now in Russia and former Soviet Union states. Large yolka fir trees can be found in many cities, such as Grozny the capital of Chechnya (mostly Muslim,) Kazan, Ulan-Ude in East Siberia and many more.

So it is now that everyone in Russia and former USSR states celebrate New Year with a decorated fir tree, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Sikhs, Hindus, etc. It is not considered a Christmas tree, just like in France, it is a universal tree of light, fun, goodwill and hope. During the Soviet years the Jews were not allowed to celebrate Passover, Hanukkah or any other religous holidays, but they could celebrate Novy God (New Year) with a decorated yulka tree - and they all did. After millions of Jews emigrated from the Soviet Union they continued their yolka tradition and passed it to their children. However, many Jews in Israel cannot accept the concept of a secular decorated fir tree and have been trying to stop that tradition. I even read in international newspapers that some towns in Israel a couple of weeks ago vandalized and or burnt yolka trees. It is quite sad to me that some people leaving their country to escape persecution are not fully accepted in their new country either. At least they can come to France and have a yolka tree (but as in the US, there is anti-Semitism in France, too, alas.)

As I said above the concept of sending Christmas cards is not followed in France. Since living in the US I have changed my customs/traditions and I do send Christmas cards. I also send New Year cards to France (I feel one should not be rigid but flexible with traditions.) In France you should not say "Happy New Year" before the 1st of January - it is considered back luck. But after the first you may wish it to everyone you meet, write it on every email or text! Another French tradition started by General de Gaulle in 1960 is the New Year's Eve presidential message (like the Christmas message of the late UK Queen and new King.) On television, at 8 pm the President of the French Republic speaks to the nation from the official Elysée Palace and gives his "Presidential Greetings." This year President Macron in a 20-minute statement addressed the French people with "wishes for unity, boldness and collective ambition." My wish for you is to have a great year. May the next 12 months be synonymous with joy, laughter and good health.