Yesterday was the first Thanksgiving in years that we did not go and tour the conservatory at Longwood Gardens. So, here are some garden videos in case anyone else is missing a garden. I’m starting with Longwood, where Associate Director of Display Design Jim Sutton tours the Chrysanthemum Festival, which traditionally opens in October and runs through mid-November. Then (below the jump), from Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, we’ve got Pocket Gardens Surprise: A Bit of England. After that, in case you’re still hungry after yesterday’s feasting, we have Paul Blackmore, the Fuqua Conservatory Manager at Atlanta Botanical Garden, talking about cacao trees. (That last video was posted during their “Chocolate Covered Weekend” back in September, and you can find a few recipes & whatnot at their YouTube channel.
Singing in the rain
Burberry's (fragrance-free) holiday video for 2020, featuring dance collective (La)Horde and vocals by Dreya Mac.
Floral or putrid
Despite sometimes being referred to as the “king of fruits,” durian is easily one of the more contentious foods out there. That’s because the stinky fruit emits an overpowering odor that tends to elicit intense feelings of love or disgust. But that’s not the only flavor you’ll sense in a sip of the pungent brandy. The spirit is also distilled from indole, an organic compound that can smell either floral or putrid depending on the concentration.
— New Hampshire-based Tamworth Distilling will launch their new Corpse Flower brandy next month. (Eau de Musc, a whiskey scented with castoreum, is available now, as is their Sierra Fig Cordial.) Read more in Spirit of the Times? This Distiller Made a Brandy That Smells Like “Death and Decay” at Robb Report.
The daily lemming
Diptyque was not quite done with my wishlist yet. Here is the holiday lantern, which fits on any Diptyque full size (190g) candle: "Three marvelous animals leap around the flame. As if by magic, thanks to the heat of the candle, the finely openwork silver lantern turns on itself, projecting a wonderful dance around it." $85 at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Scented Snapshot ~ Rangoon Creeper
Three years ago, I reviewed Gucci Bloom. What caught my attention most were these lines from Gucci’s description of the perfume…
Tuberose and jasmine combine with Rangoon Creeper — a unique flower discovered in South India that is being used for the first time in perfumery…the slightly powdery floral scent is captured (via headspace technology) as the flower blooms….
I wondered: why don’t I know about Rangoon creeper?
Before my Bloom review posted, I’d ordered three Rangoon creeper plants from Florida…