Christmas 2012 At The Huntington Library (Page Three)

Did You Know? - The Chinese garden, also known as a Chinese classical garden, recreates natural landscapes in miniature. The style has evolved for more than three thousand years, and includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and smaller gardens built by scholars, poets, and former government officials.

The classical Chinese garden is enclosed by a wall and has one or more ponds, a rock garden, trees and flowers, and an assortment of halls and pavilions within the garden, connected by winding paths and zig-zag galleries. By moving from structure to structure, visitors can view a series of carefully composed scenes, unrolling like a scroll of landscape paintings.

Did You Know? - They bear little red berries in the fall and winter. The birds gorge themselves on them, but as a kid I was always told they were poisonous to humans.

It turns out that a) they are not poisonous, although b) they are not very good raw. It also turns out that c) they are of several related species that are d) all members of the apple subfamily of the gigantic rose family. This means that e) the "berries" are in fact pomes (think of them as blueberry-sized crabapples). When I nerved myself to taste one, it did indeed taste like a little, mushy apple.

Did You Know? - Hemerocallis fulva, the Orange Daylily, Tawny Daylily, Tiger Daylily or Ditch Lily, is a species of daylily native to Asia. It is very widely grown as an ornamental plant in temperate climates for its showy flowers and ease of cultivation. It is not related to true lilies, but gets its name from the similarity of the flowers and from the fact that each flower lasts only one day.

Did You Know? - The Bishop's Crown or Christmas Bell, is a pepper, a variety of the species Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum. It is named for its distinct three-sided shape resembling a Bishop's Crown.

Although this variety can be found in Barbados, and is actually part of the species Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum. it may be indigenous to South America. Today, it is also found in Europe, possibly brought there from Brazil by the Portuguese sometime in the 18th century.

The actual plant is relatively large, being 3 to 4 feet in height. It produces 30 to 50 peculiar, 3 or 4 flat-winged, wrinkled pods. These somewhat flying saucer-like peppers grow to approximately 1.5 inches wide.

The flesh inside each pepper is thin, yet crisp. They mature to red from a pale green colour about 90-100 days after the seedlings emerge.

The body of the peppers have very little heat, with the wings being sweet and mild.

Did You Know? - A pot of brewed tea and a basket of freshly baked scones are served at each table. From a central buffet, guests may choose from an array of savory finger sandwiches, imported and domestic cheeses, fresh fruits, chilled seasonal salads, and specialty petite desserts. Return to the buffet as often as you like; limitless refills of tea and scones are served upon request.