...zumindest der Wetterbericht verspricht uns einen großartigen ersten Blick auf nahende Frühlingsfreuden!
Da wenden sich meine Gedanken unweigerlich in Richtung Garten zu meinen bevorzugten Blumenkindern, die mir in jedem Frühjahr mit ihren fröhlichen Gesichtern das Herz erwärmen.
Ein Anblick, der schon im 17.Jahrhundert Verehrer gefunden hat, im 18.Jahrhundert endgütlig in Mode kam und seine volle Blüte um das Jahr 1800 feierte: die Aurikel!
...well at least the weatherforecast promised us a first glimpse of spring this week!
Knowing this my thoughts immediately turned into the garden to my favourite flowers, which pretty faces always warm my heart.
Those tiny faces have been the gardener's favourite since the 17th century and were the height of fashion around the year 1800: the auricula!
Auch ich war dem Charme vergangener Zeiten erlegen, hier ist mein "Aurikeltheater" im letzten Jahr.
Leider sind die Pflänzchen ein wenig heikel und ich fürchte dieser Winter hat wieder ein paar Statisten das Leben gekostet.
Aber zurück zum historischen Kontext! In den Jahren um 1807 erschien sogar ein üppig bebildertes Werk über die Gewächse mit dem Titel "Aurikelflora, nach der Natur gemalt" von F.A. Kannegießer.
Zu ihren Anhängern und eifrigen Sammlern zählten u.a. Goethe und der Herzog Carl August in Weimar.
Besonders empfehlenswert ist ein Besuch der umfangreichen Sammlung in der Orangerie auf Schloß Belvedere im zeitigen Frühjahr.
Wer mehr über die herrlichen Primelgewächse und ihre aufregende Geschichte erfahren möchte, dem sei das Buch "Die Aurikel" von Brigitte Wachsmuth und Marion Nickig empfohlen.
I soon surrendered to the charm of the bygone days, a picture of last year's auricula "theatre".
Unfortunately the plants are a bit finicky and I'm afraid I lost some of the "cast" due to the harsh winter.
But back to the historical connection. In the year 1807 a famous book with plenty of coloured plates was published, it was called "Aurikelflora, nach der Natur gemalt" from F.A.Kannegießer.
Among their admirers and keen collectors have been Goethe and the Duke Carl August in Weimar.
I highly recommened a visit to the Schloß Belvedere in Weimar in early spring, as there's a fascinating collection of auriculas presented in the orangerie.
I love auricula's! Such pretty faces and colours. In my garden inspiration book I have a photo of a gorgeous auricula theatre which, one day, I want to copy for my own garden..
AntwortenLöschenDear Josje,
Löschenit's lovely to meet another auricula admirer. Yes, the little flowers are hard to resist regarding their pretty faces! In the photo they are shown on a garden bench and still in their plastic pots (oopsie), after their flowers faded in June I repotted them and my husband has built me a real "theatre". I usually have less than a dozen different plants and the "stage" would look quite empty, thus I decided to add some of my hostas (my other favourites) to the cast...there was a picture of the theatre in one of my previous posts, if you're interested: http://kleidungum1800.blogspot.com/2011/05/erbauliches-aus-der-botanik-und-der.html
Sabine
I have never heard of them, but they are very pretty. I wonder if they grow well in my part of the world?
AntwortenLöschenDear Jenni,
AntwortenLöschenthey are a delight in spring as they come in a whole lot of different varieties and almost all colours. But they are a bit "old fashioned" as they need a lot of care compared to the common primulas, which are grown in masses. I don't know wether there are any auricula nurseries in the US, but there are some in the UK, Netherlands and Germany. If you learn more about them, you cannot help but being fond of them ;) I would recommened to browse auricula websites to get an impression!
Sabine