Stephen Spitewinter

#plants #history #botany #art

Happy weekend painting...

Tobias Stranover 1684–1756?
A fantasy tableau of European & East Indies birds feeding on fruit.
Oils on Canvas c1730s

The parakeets are annoying me. I thought Rainbow Lorikeets at first, but not quite. Anyone in N #Australia like to help?

#plants #history #botany #art

Happy weekend painting...

Tobias Stranover 1684–1756?
A fantasy tableau of European & East Indies birds feeding on fruit.
Oils on Canvas c1730s

The parakeets are annoying me. I thought Rainbow Lorikeets at first, but not quite. Anyone in N #Australia like to help?

And I forgot Rosa Rugosa, which I find particularly insidious.

🧵/2

It has to be said that many introduced species have improved their environment either by enhancing food sources or just making the habit more open and varied.
(For instance Annona squamosa for food and, in Vietnam, Pachira insignis for food and shade.)

🧵/1
🙂 A very fair point, and we often confuse matters by revising classifications. If you look back through my profile you will see that I have an occasional rant about Invasive Alien Species. (Impatiens glandulifera, Reynoutria japonica, R. ponticum and my other betes noires)
However...
🧵/ next

Rhododendron ponticum | Pontic rhododendron Shrubs/RHS Find help & information on Rhododendron ponticum Pontic rhododendron Shrubs from the RHS

Hi. A problem with your comparison - 𝑅. 𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑚 is a purple flowered evergreen. Azalea Pontica syn. R. luteum is a bright yellow flower and, although it may not drop its leaves, they have a significant colour change.

RHS references:

www.rhs.org.uk/plants/15369...

www.rhs.org.uk/plants/10061...

#plants #history #botany #art 🌼

Azalea Pontica syn. Rhododendron luteum - Yellow Azalea / Honeysuckle Azalea

First described c1753, origins spread SE from Poland to the Caucasus. Easy to cultivate (remember it needs Ericaceous soil) - tough, may or may not be deciduous depending on local climate.

#plants #history #botany #art 🌼

Azalea Pontica syn. Rhododendron luteum - Yellow Azalea / Honeysuckle Azalea

First described c1753, origins spread SE from Poland to the Caucasus. Easy to cultivate (remember it needs Ericaceous soil) - tough, may or may not be deciduous depending on local climate.

Been there, seen it, had the emails. I had Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' sanctioned. It's in the Uffizi Gallery if you're interested. $150,000,000 and it's yours.
The USA is an increasingly weird place. Maybe I should have Photoshopped an assault rifle into the picture to make it acceptable.

I believe you are looking for the term 'Rational Human'.

#plants #history #botany #art 🌼

Pitcairnia aphelandriflora syn. Pepinia aphelandriflora

Flowering plant in family Bromeliaceae, origins Panama, Ecuador, Peru as far S as Brazil. First described by Charles Antoine Lemaire in 1869.

Often confused references. My guess is care as indoor Bromeliad.

At my age, ladies, the climb to the first floor of my house is dangerous enough.
🙁

#plants #history #botany #art

Only the second day of February and the long, dull, damp wait for spring in 🇬🇧 is very depressing.

Anglophile son of Camille Pissarro, Lucien is often overlooked

artuk.org/discover/art...

Lucien Pissarro (1863-1944)
Stamford Brook Green in Snow
Oils on Canvas c1927

1. Art History
2.Economics
3. Social History
4. Comparative Politics
5. Philosophy & Classics

John Atkinson Grimshaw - Wikipedia

I'm very pleased that you like it. Grimshaw excelled in deeply atmospheric portrayal of English landscape.

More:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_At...

What UK car industry?
With the exception of a couple of very exotic sports car marques, if it's built on 4 wheels in the UK, it's foreign owned. (And that includes Rolls-Royce Motors (owned by BMW) and Bentley (owned by VW). We wrecked our motor industry ourselves - Europeans rescued it.

Yes, of course, it makes perfect nonsense... If you've ever wondered why nobody reads the Telegraph any more, look no further. (And pity the poor trees that died in vain.)

#plants #history #botany #art 🌳

I've had a busy week - it has left me tired and melancholic. John Grimshaw painted many public spaces in N 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in the C19. His work was calm and pensive.

John Atkinson Grimshaw 1836-1893
Moonlight on Waterloo lake, Roundhay Park, Leeds 🇬🇧
Oils on Canvas c1872

The stuff that dreams are made of...

If I have a choice between this and 'Melania' then Charles wins my time.

Ahhh - Alack and Alas...
Still in use in my part of the world.

#Plants #History #Botany #Art

Rhododendron grande Wight

Original Himalayan Rhododendron. Described in Calcutta Journal c1837, a big hit with Victorian gardeners. They have no natural predators in 🇬🇧 and they wipe out anything in their shade.

The North Collection, Kew
www.kew.org/kew-gardens/...

Strange! My local take-away always has a broken card reader until about 1930h every night. (At which point it seems to start working again without any adjustment.)
Good job they take handy, untraceable cash!

It suddenly strikes me that Farage is now running a political charity shop full of useless bric-a-brac that should have gone in the bin a long time ago.

Or perhaps we have arrived at Berthold Brecht's solution:
“Some party hack decreed that the people
had lost the government's confidence
and could only regain it with redoubled effort.
If that is the case, would it not be be simpler,
If the government simply dissolved the people
And elected another?”

Or perhaps we have arrived at Berthold Brecht's solution:
“Some party hack decreed that the people
had lost the government's confidence
and could only regain it with redoubled effort.
If that is the case, would it not be be simpler,
If the government simply dissolved the people
And elected another?”

I have a suspicion that by now the majority of Tories may want Badenoch out of the way, not the other way around.

I have a suspicion that by now the majority of Tories may want Badenoch out of the way, not the other way around.

A fair observation.

All I can see is a sad old man in a middle-aged, mid-life crisis car.