Rienzi is the house museum and collection of European paintings and decorative arts at the MFAH. Our articles highlight elements of the collection, discuss additions and changes to the house or gardens, and review events held at Rienzi for those of you not able to be here in person. Feel free to e-mail rienziblog@mfah.org with questions, comments, and suggestions. Welcome!
Posts Tagged Gardens, page 2
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18 JanWed / 2012
This morning I popped into the Rienzi kitchen to find another staff member adding freshly cut flowers to a vase. “Where are those from?” I asked, thinking someone picked up a few bouquets of beautiful deep pink flowers from the grocery store. “The gardens,” was the reply. As a native New Englander, I was perplexed. Wait. Flowers? It’s January, we haven’t even started winter! I haven’t even had a chance to wear wool sweaters yet!
I...
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15 DecThu / 2011
I arrived at Rienzi a few minutes early this morning, coffee in one hand, my lunch of leftover saag paneer in the other. I was a little on edge, for my a.m. drive in was unnecessarily stressful. When I entered my office, which is an off-view bedroom at Rienzi, nick-named the Septapus Room after a psychedelic seven armed octopus that is painted on the walls, ironically, I felt an instant calm.
Psychedelic murals aside, the Septapus...
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30 SepFri / 2011
The abundance at our dining table might never have come together, if not for guidance from the omniscient hands of Mrs. Elizabeth Raffald. The Experienced English Housekeeper, written in 1769 by Mrs. Raffald, was used as a model for the dining table in Rienzi’s exhibition. I am delighted that we are able to honor Mrs. Raffald, by laying out one more dinner course to her keen specifications. What the housekeeper-turned-author would have thought, if she...
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29 JulFri / 2011
The Reflecting Pool is one of the most prominent and tranquil spaces within Rienzi’s gardens. A large plane of water accented by eight small fountainheads, the pool is surrounded by tea roses and azaleas as well as two outdoor statues, Figure of a Nude by Carol Wilson Crow and The Torchbearers by Charles Umlauf.
As inviting as it might look, any visitor who might venture a quick dip would quickly discover that this pool is only 18...
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25 MarFri / 2011
The azaleas are in full bloom at Rienzi! Yesterday we headed outside for a mini photo shoot: check out the slideshow at right.
There are many varieties of this flowering, yet shade-loving bush. At Rienzi, you can see Judge Solomon, Pink Ruffle, Pink Pearl, Dixie Beauty, Formosa, Daphne Salmon, President Clay, G.G. Gerbing, Fielder’s White, and Kate Arendall azaleas. They are native to Asia, Europe, and South America and have been cultivated for hundreds of years. In...
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