Fun day in Ha'il

Sunset from Aref Castle - Ha'il, Saudi Arabia

exploring the perimeter

                                                                       Fantastic view    

 



Aref Castle

Day wandering around Ha'il, Saudi Arabia.  very nice, but hot in an abaya, hijab and niquaab. I absolutely love history and architecture!

Ha'il Reflections

  African sandstorm on the roof of the hotel

                 

                 City lights and sand from Africa

  Quishlah Palace

  Moon over the Samara Mountains

Augustan Garden

The Augustan Garden was developed as a style in the 18th century that wanted to revisit and adhere elements of the past, of the Roman style garden and yet still allude to the English garden.  This was the era of the birth of Freemasonry and the Romantic poets, and an atmosphere that desired to achieve a type of literary and artistic beauty.  Sculpture and adornments were especially helpful in pointing out and connecting the visions of the designer with the key elements of the past. This century saw a collective response to industrialism from the "artistic" front and many were trying to recapture the ideals of the Medeival period.  Much like Marx saw about the negative consequences that capitalism could bring, perhaps few of these Romantics and anti-industrialists also saw a dark cloud above the skies of the new industry, that wasn't only pollution from the factories.

Strawberry Hill (Gothic revival) : the ideals of Romanticism

Castle Howard, in Yorkshire, England embodies the Augustan concept and is a perfect example of what it incorporates in it's style.  It was designed to run on a north/south axis, it included two different architectural orders in front; Doric and Corinthian, which were different types of Greek architectural orders, mostly adorning columns.  The Doric order is mainly comprised of triglyphs and metopes, and is featured here in the Parthenon column, however, it has an intricate horse feature where the plain Doric type would be a blank slate between the triglyphs. 

 The Corinthian style is more ornate, utilizing fluted columns and acanthus leaves.

Although the main Castle is Baroque, it has a nineteenth-century garden, designed by an amateur and tries to reflect the Roman period about.  It also has naturalism and dark theatrical suggestions.  It is no coincidence that Augustus was the purveyor for connecting the past with the present, as Augustan Rome was utilized and laid out in this manner. He was friends with Gaius Matius, the inventor of topiary.  Trees, he felt were the indisputable link to the past, as well as providing the lifeblood for the future, and were considered most sacred.



Once again, Baroque meets Naturalism in the Russian palace and park of Pavlovsk, a great estate on 307 hectacres of land near St. Petersburg given to Tsar Pavel, by his mother; Catherine the Great.  The palace is designed in the St. Petersburg neo-classicist style, but the two architects who worked on it had differing views; Cameron loved the understated Palladianism and Brenna probably loved not being on the Tsar's bad side by altering the work of Cameron.  The gardens are designed also, by Capability Brown and include naturalism as well as the theatrical baroque infused vistas.  The private gardens only for the family, were more formalized and bedded down.

Pavlovsk Park

Pavlosk Palace

 Rousham gardens, near Oxford in England was built in the early eighteenth century by William Kent, a reknowned British architect, landscape architect, and furniture designer, who did most of his studying in Italy.  They also have the characteristics of Naturalism and added folly to accentuate the Roman period in many of the different garden rooms.
It is worth noting that all of these temples, obelisks, and other statuesque gestures, whether they are pyramids or mauseoleums all have one thing in common, besides the Roman overtures; they are associated with Freemasonry. Whether or not all of the property owners or architects were freemasons; as it was new and popular at this time is not determined, however the fact that so many of these landscapes were tended to by people who believed in this society is a fact and so are the symbols they planted on the land.

Rousham Palace

Freemasonry gone wild.

Other Augustan Landscapes

Woerlitzer Park, Germany


                     

Park an der Ilm, Germany

The Cloister Garden type

                                                            The Cloister Garden

The Cloister garden was a form of garden style developed mainly in monasteries around the world, but most likely originated in roman peristyle courtyards.  The word cloister, which is Latin for enclosure means  "a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth."

They were intended to be utilized not only for growing food or medicinal herbs, but also as a contemplative type garden, that became assimilated mostly with monasteries and other medieval buildings, such as the one shown here at Mont St Michel in France; a fortress built in the eight century; some say by a request from Michael, the archangel. It sits on the coast where Normandy and Brittany converge and is assaulted by the highest and fastest tides in the world, sometimes known to swell to 45 feet during high tides.

  

Another example of a monastic cloister garden is a monastery in Meteora, Greece, of which there are only 13 remaining.  The Meteora Complex consists of six monasteries situated on sandstone cliffs, high above the central Greece plains.  This location offered a safe refuge for the Hermetic Monks, as many invaders, such as the Turks in the 18th century, sought to dissolve the Byzantine Empire. Legend has it, that Athanasaios, (the founder of the first monastery) was carried up by an eagle.  Today there are bridges and ladders were used at some point during history to scale the 1.027 feet.  The monasteries suffered damage during World War II, but is now a protected UNESCO heritage site.

Across the globe, in the Netherlands, the Cathedral of St. Martin in Utrecht, is one of the earliest examples of a cloister garden as the foundation of the cathedral was built in 47 A.D.  Originally comprised of wood and earth, it was an early Roman fortress to defend their empire.  This cathedral was burned down many times, then made up of tuffstone, and finally evolved into a Gothic cathedral; influenced by the Cathedral of Cologne.  Part of the cathedral, most especially the Nave, (which was never supported or finished properly in the 16th century) was destroyed by a tornado.  It had been made of wood, not brick, and did not have any buttresses, as financing had collapsed at this point. It has been both a Protestant and Catholic home, and now is mainly a tourist site, with a Domplain utilized where the nave used to be.

B.S.

Linderhof Castle: Bavarian respite for King Ludwig

Linderhof Castle is found situated in Bavaria, in the southern region of Germany, located on the site of an old military stud farm, called Schawiaganger.  It is in a deep valley at the end of the Romantic Road in the Aetal Valley and was designed by Karl von Effner, with much influence and direction by King Ludwig the II of Bavaria.  He designed three castles in his short life, during the late 19^th century, but only saw Linderhof  completed. He is the famous king who built Neuchwanstein Castle located near Munich in southern Germany that people the world over admire and know by site.  All three of his castles pay homage to Richard Wagner, a composer.  A very troubled and alienated youth, King Ludwig grew into a very elegant and famous admirer of opera and architecture.  Although his private life was filled with tragedy and scandal, his three castles are a work of art.  They are a testament to his sanity, as one theory is that his psychologist drowned him in the lake that Neuchwanstein overlooks; Lake Starnberg.

     The landscape design at Linderhof Castle was designed by Carl von Effner, who was the court gardener and came from a litany of gardeners.  The landscape, like the castle, itself, was a response to Versailles, which Ludwig and von Effner tried to emulate.  However the valley that Linderhof sat in was much too small for the design, even when it was reduced.  The size of the garden is on a much smaller scale than Versailles, (approximately 125 acres) but designed, nonetheless, after the Baroque inspired design by Le Notre. 

     The building itself: “schloss” was designed in neo-Rococo style and the gardens are done mostly in Baroque, as well as Renaissance; (the terraces), and English garden styles; (the grounds surrounding the formal garden).  Much like the gardens at Versailles, Linderhof has parterres, sculptures, buildings inspired by the Orient, fountains and originally; a theme inspired by Wagnerian operas that demonstrate how garden design can emulate another type of art.  Along with the opera metaphorical designs, the formal gardens at Linderhof also are divided into five sections that feature sculpture relating to the continents, the time of year and the elements.   Ludwig saved Wagner’s career by having him give private performances here and at his main castle; Neuchwanstein.  It is a testament to Ludwig’s graciousness, as he was also well liked by the Bavarian constituents of many generations.  As for Linderhof, it is a garden design that featured opulence and theatrics, but also is dictated by function. 

     As one enters the castle area, you drive over the river Linder on a historic bridge made of     , the grounds surrounding the castle and the garden are shaped and based on English hunting parks.   There is a duck pond to the west as one drives onto the grounds, a Moroccan house and the royal hunting lodge that Ludwig’s father used.  Entering the grounds around the actual Rococo castle, one comes upon the larger water parterre, located to the south of the palace.  It is an impressive and majestic site that mimics Versailles, as the fountains can reach heights of 22 m. and includes gilt figurines in the pond as well.  There is a large Linden tree next to the pond that is not only beautiful, but “disturbs the geometry of the design",  and gave the palace its name.  This gallant pool could be seen from the Hall of the Mirrors in the interior of the Palace and created a controlled view.   Like the view from the top of the music pavilion as well, this broad stroke of design helps the visitor enjoy and understand the illustration of an allegory (Wagner’s operas), and fully understand Ludwig and Von Essner’s combined visions.  Much like Le Notre achieved at Versailles and Vaux de Vicomte, through the use of Cartesian theory no doubt,  “ The subtle alterations of grade and multiplicity of perspectives at Vaux dramatize and dignify the chateau and carry the eye along an axial progression to carefully established focal points within the garden, as well as to the remote horizon beyond.  These effects are the result of precise mathematical calculation.   This is also achieved at Linderhof, whether von Effner used this or not, he still represents his axis much the same way.   “The sloping terrain facing the bedroom in the north tract of the new building was exploited to create a cascade. The water flows down the slope over 30 marble steps, each a miniature waterfall. With the Neptune Fountain at the bottom and the Music Pavilion at the top, the Cascade separates the palace from the countryside to the north.”

When you continue south behind the palace, you reach the three terrace gardens, which are also Baroque and Renaissance  inspired as they contain water nymphs’ sculptures and a bust of Marie Antoinette, as Ludwig was an avid fan of French absolutism and dedicated almost the entire design to that of Versailles.     The top of the terrace gardens hosts a temple of Venus in gold that is part of the response to Baroque design.  Many of the statues and fountains are gold, another extravagant gesture to the “gilded” age.  They offer companionship to the visitor, who otherwise might feel alienated in such a magnificent setting. Offsetting these terraces is the Linden tree, that Ludwig saved from felling and is very much the concept behind the garden, no doubt, as it it likely what captured Ludwig’s attention to the actual site, and remains the constant symbol.  As one continues through the park after visiting the eastern and western parterres, and the north and south axis gardens, moving to the east of the palace, you find yourself in a lush forest of oak, beech, and lime trees, moving along the winding paths treats visitors to  romantic and soothing scenery surrounded by the Ammergau Mountains and ending at the eastern part of the property and a few buildings, including the Hermitage Hut that King Ludwig visited every Good Friday for contemplation, and, “For this day he wanted a flowering meadow. If there was no such meadow because there was still snow lying, the garden director had to plant one for the king.”    

     Linderhof Palace was a response to many different types of Landscape Design:  Baroque,

Renaissance, and English garden.  The effect was quite brilliant, along with Ludwig of Bavaria’s

 quest to transfer his vision of the appreciation of arts and the seasons, along with mythology along

 the way.  The decadence may be somewhat overrated; however, the masses seem to enjoy it, as if one

 were reading a good book.  The calming sense of the Renaissance inspired terrace gardens:

the wonderful sense of the Baroque legend of design: grand gestures immortalizing allegorical figures, parterres, enormous water features, canals, axial planning and promenades all capitulating the garden grounds themselves  into a naturalistic English garden style surrounding, truly shows the vision of both designer and the owner.   The emulation of both style and obsession with a monarch;   Louis XIV and the way it was achieved is both brilliant and sad.  At a time in history when the Absolutist rulers were controlling their countries purse strings, living in grandeur and letting their people suffer, it is an undeniable greedy gesture to create such gardens.  The King behind the creation of this palace was much more Humanist and his responding design, was both a way to create a place of serenity for him and also pay homage to the many facets of art and culture at the same time.  Linderhof was the only castle Ludwig saw completed, so he did achieve a great thing, by keeping his vision true and honest. By combining so many variables to create a lasting impression of magnificent garden design, is indeed a noble gesture.  - B.S.

Licence: Creative Commons

Common Name: Persian buttercup

Type: Bulb

Family: Ranunculaceae

Zone: 8 to 10

Native Range: Southern Europe, southwestern Asia

Height: 1 to 2 feet

Spread: 1 to 2 feet

Bloom Time: May to June

Bloom Color: Pink, Purple, Red, White, Yellow

Bloom Description: Red, pink, purple, yellow or white

                                                    Rannunculus

 history:
Ranunculus has its origins in the middle east. It is a genus containing about 600 species of plants. Ranunculus is a part of the Ranunculaceae family. Some examples of the plants belonging to the genus includes the buttercups, water crowfoots and the lesser celandine. Today, these flowers thrive throughout the world, in both eastern and western gardens.
Ranunculus flowers is the epitome of charm and charisma. A bouquet of these flowers is supposed to convey the message “ I am dazzled by your charms”.


mythology:
 The name Ranunculus in late Latin means "little frog," The meaning of “Rana” in late Latin is "frog". In fairy tales frogs are often found to be turned into a prince. This is thought to be the connection between the story of the prince and the origin of the name Ranunculus.
Once upon a time there lived an Asian prince. He was very good-looking. He had a lovely voice and sang beautiful songs in the presence of nymphs. One day, he met a nymph and fell in love with her. They met often but he could not bring himself to declare his love for her. This haunted him so bad that he soon died. When he died, he was transformed into the delicate tissue-like flowers that bears his name.
The association of the meaning of the word Ranunculus with frog is thought to be because these flowers are generally found in swampy areas, like the frogs.  -

                                            Hunters in the snow   -   Pieter Brugel the Elder
"Bruegel was able to perfectly capture the light, the feel, the atmosphere of a late winter afternoon in the countryside. Exactly what countryside it’s meant to be is a mystery - there certainly aren’t any mountains like that in Holland. But Pieter Bruegel did take a long trip to Italy, so he was certainly familiar with mountains. And anyway, exact locations don’t matter. The painting Winter is the archetype of winter, the Idea of winter. It can be any winter you want it to be, anywhere you think it should be. The fact that the painting is unconstrained by an exact location is part of what gives the work its enduring quality.
I think that Hunters in the Snow is more constrained by a sense of time than of place. Despite the fact that the year 1565 is not really the Middle Ages anymore, Hunters in the Snow perfectly captures my concept of what the Middle Ages was like: cold, brutal, fairly miserable, and real. Perhaps it’s that aspect of Bruegel’s paintings that intrigues me most of all: his subjects are so detailed and so realistically portrayed that they seem to be able to march right off of the canvas and into our world."    Jessica Spengler


I second that review. I have always been a fan of Carravagio and Brugel the Elder for their dynanic realism, and ability to capture life in everyday norms with a hint of darkness, but not too much, because the viewer has to be able to think of those people in regular terms, they're tired, they just marched up a big hill, and they are looking at the frivolity below them probably with some envy.  Artists are usually somewhat morose individuals anyway, so we could picture them just as easily on a sunny afternoon, but it wouldn't be as much fun.  - b.s. (Bavarian Snowflake)

Licence: Public Domain