Avatar Taxonomy

I am still over the moon :) about the movie Avatar, mainly for the visual magic found on the Pandora -- especially the amazing, dream-like world of the Native Plants found on the planet.

Now I learn there are web sites that offer botanical listings of the Flora on Pandora.

It is Fantasy Botany!

http://tinyurl.com/ydaf2wt


Just like Jake, it's easy to see how fans are having difficulty separating the real from the world of avatar and Pandora...
The New York Times reported on fans that can't seem to shake the blues ^:^ after seeing the movie:
http://tinyurl.com/ycauzhu




Here, for example is the data for Octoshrooms:

Biology: Octoshrooms ( style="font-family: Times-Roman;">Na'vi name: Torukspxam, meaning "great leonopteryxfungus") are large mushroom-like organisms that live on Pandora. They are bioluminescent and extremely toxic. These fungi possess a giant underground filament network that enable them to feed.

Reproduction:  To reproduce, octoshrooms release spores that germinate and grow filaments wherever they land.

Feeding: Some mycelia penetrate plant roots to absorb carbohydrates while providing the body with a greater supply of mineral nutrients. Octoshrooms are able to absorb and break down nearly everything in the soil such as chlorine, ammonia, and methane

Study: Following the 1986 Chernobyl incident on Earth, a similar fungus was discovered, but not fully understood. When scientists realized that the octoshroom used ionizing radiation as energy for growth, scientists were able to further understand the metabolism of the Chernobyl fungus. Because it is an effective antivenom, there are currently studies underway regarding the octoshroom in the pharmaceutical and bioremediation industries.

Uses: The Na'vi use the octoshroom's roots to make tea. It is a powerful antivenom effective against the sting of many venomous animals. Too much tea, however, has been proven toxic and sometimes lethal

On Earth: It is possible that octoshroom spores have stowed away on an interstellar vehicle and germinated on Earth. However, no specimens have been found and data regarding its survival in the terran atmosphere is incomplete. Some believe that an octoshroom "forest" in Nevada could help restore the entire region


And there's lots more!  Check it out.  

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I love all the fervor surrounding Avatar and can only hope it gets people more interested and active in learning about plants and taking care of planet earth...and OUR native plants -- they are just as heart-stoppingly beautiful, mysterious and magical – if you just take the time to look and explore….

Holiday Greens & Festive Food

In what I hope is now a Holiday tradition with my fellow/former Junior League girlfriends, we ring in the holiday season the Gotham apartment.

We enjoy a memorable evening with laughter, wine, good food, wine, family stories, wine, and well, you get the idea.

I start the planning with the decorations, naturally.  I visit the Greenmarket for plants and natural and organic creations to fulfill my idea of creating a warm, candle-infused, magical evening of good food and  friends.

Greenmarket at Union Square always delivers organic options. The conifers were inspiring to say the least.

The River Garden stand where I purchase my eucalyptus -- and this year's elegant lamb's ear wreath:

I  found charming beeswax candles shaped into angels and christmas trees -- and in gold -- perfect colors to match the kitchen!

All the girls chip in for the food and I plan the menu with Celeste from Marquette Restaurant (www.DiFioreMarquetcafe.com), located around the corner on 12th Street between Fifth Avenue and University Place.  

Celeste is a doll!  She makes the entire catering experience fun, easy and exciting. 

The restaurant is so charming - I think I'm back in France when dining there - and there is art on all the walls.  Heavenly.

Celeste too keeps a file so that she can pull up what the menu was I ordered in previous years.  

For this party, I like to serve a hot soup  -- like fennel carrot -- or this year's no-cream cauliflower.  

I serve the soup in fun, interesting terrines that look like squash, pumpkins, and other winter vegetables that I got from Williams Sonoma a few years ago (www.williams-sonoma.com and www.wshome.com)  Perfect size too.   

I put two or three of the terrines on the buffet kitchen table and use clear glass expresso cups for soup servers - so the guests can scoop the soup into the cups and walk around while sipping the delicious soup. I find this is a very social -- and healthy and delicious - appetizer.  

Celeste and I enjoyed a lively discussion about food possibilities. She knows  how to work with a budget too :)

And she is most creative. For example, I had an idea for sweet potato "cupcakes." 

Celeste and her chefs were able to deliver beyond expectations.  The "cupcake" concept or "caper" :) was not a dessert but rather a side dish or vegetable -- Just a whole lot more interesting and elegant.  Celeste and I talked about how we/she could do this. But in the end, she took the concept and as always -- just ran with it and achieved a culinary wonder!  

We also agreed on a scallop and a crab meat creation with a roasted red pepper sauce. 

I LOVE what she wrote and did with the salmon.  Celeste suggested  poached salmon and a Scotch salmon.  Why, I asked.  What is the difference between the two salmon??  

It is the "look" she instructed me.  She said there is an old saying that "The eyes eat before the stomach." She said it in a much more eloquent way.... But you get the idea. Celeste explained that the two different shades of pink in the salmon is glorious and visual. 

It made me think the seduction of the glamorous salmon, as she explained it, was indeed perfect for us! 

We then agreed on the more, ahem, mundane items, such as the salad with endive, and the cheese platte.

I love a goat, a brie, a stilton and especially this time of year, a cheddar.  

Marquette also provides great baguettes for my cheese fondue that I love to serve at these kind of fetes. It's decadent (who eats cheese like this any more?); goes perfect with wine :) and from my school days and holidays in Switzerland, I embrace the social and convivial experience fondue offers.

I also added our caviar that is, in turn, a gift from our long time friends, the DiMasi's.  They are truly amazing friends and parents ( more about that later). But I get to sing their praises every year with a select few family and friends, as we share the unbelievable good fortune of this spectacular treat.  

And make no mistake. I LOVE caviar more than you can imagine. 

Accordingly, we must offer great champagne to accompany the caviar. 

And god forbid there is any left over - ha - we will carry over to the chocolate dessert.  And this year - I went with the social fondue theme and we enjoyed chocolate fondue with strawberries and dried fruit, including apricots.  

Thank you Celeste. 

And my Tannins.

Glorious, glamorous, memorable evening.

And New York cleans up from Christmas faster than anyplace I know... Too soon...

Coming back into town after New Year's, I saw the trees on the curb for take away.  So pretty.

But they must not realize there is a mulchfest every year the city provides to turn the trees into mulch...

Nevertheless, the trees still look beautiful to me as they await their next chapter:

And the First Presbyterian Church across the street (always gorgeous) is still dripping in wreaths and red  berries.

and our foyer tree (resplendent with decorations and train tracks underneath) came down right after this was taken - and prior to Little Christmas.

What day is that exactly?  I thought it was the 12th...

Cheers.  

You Won!

What are just about the two sweetest words in the English language? 

“You Won.”

The subject line on the email did indeed read, “You Won.”  As I know the sender, Irene Varig, I didn’t fret that the winning notice might’ve been some snarky come-on from a third-world mambo jambo nation offering bazzilions of dollars for a mere small $$ investment…Ha.

No, Irene is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, she is now the East Coast head of the Garden Writer’s Association, she is the gardening columnist for Newsday, she and her talented and wise husband, Harvey, teach journalism at Stony Brook and she produces her own excellent Garden Party blog (I am a Follower).  Whew – she’s busy – and successful!

All good. J

When I read she had extended the deadline for the photo contest, I quick grabbed my trusty Luminex (love this camera) and took some shots to submit…  The idea for the contest is fun and smart and sustainable.  Kudos, Irene – and thank you so much!

And special thanks, also, to Nancy Thomas, owner of “In the Garden,” Highlands, in the Garden State. (www.inthegardennj.com) 

As I mentioned previously, Nancy and her team keep track of my annual holiday decorating greens so when I place the order, we can readily discuss.  Some of the flowers and plants that I add to the items from my garden I like to repeat from year to year. 
At the same time, I like to make the plant ensemble sparkle with new fashions every season. 

This year it was the hypericum berries – in the lime green and red colors that sparked both the Gotham and Garden state floral designs. 

In the Garden just moved to a new locale in the Highlands and as much as I thought nothing could top their original space, (they had great side yards for the annuals and perennials, which is where I purchase a lot of plants for my garden design clients.)

But when I saw the new digs ^:^, I was immediately smitten.

I love it!  It’s bright and big and right across from the town park that hosts a variety of events, especially the Farmer’s Market.  Nancy is a graduate of The New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture (SOPH) www.nybg.org/edu/soph/

    

SOPH’s Director, Charles Yurgalevitch, Ph.D, is a friend (smooch from your Coco, Charles!)  

He has done an amazing job of not only raising the profile of the school and its mission to “educate motivated individuals to become horticulturists of the highest caliber” and to teach the students “about utilizing art and science to beautify our surroundings so that others may and enjoy and live a better life.”  Well said, Charles.  He also worked very hard in early in his tenure at NYBG to garner accreditation for the school – which is a boon for the students – and the school.

Back to Green Decorating
I picked up my green décor “wardrobe” on Friday the 18^th of December in order to complete the “look book” for this year’s holiday decorations in time for a family party that night.

All was in place when I read Irene’s blog about the Unplug contest. I emailed the images to her blog.

And then this week and for the second time this holiday season, it does indeed appear that I truly am

A WINNER! 

I know, I know. There are those who will recall I just wrote that I have two kinds of luck: NO and BAD and so now probably want to shout, “You Lie.”

But it’s true – outside of that atlas booty from the card party, there was nothing. Ever. Nada. 

Perhaps ushering in the new decade it might be a complete course change when it comes to my luck. 

(Just to make certain, I’m not stepping on any sidewalk cracks, nor walking under any ladders or…)

Here is the winner’s page from Irene’s blog announcing the winners of this year’s “Unplug the Holiday’s contest:

And the link to her terrific blog.  Sign on to become a Follower, too!)

http://tinyurl.com/yeb8wt7

Irene Virag's Garden Party

I'm Irene Virag -- a writer, a gardener, a cancer survivor. I think ideas are like plants. They need nurturing to grow. And gardeners share both. So welcome to my blog. It’s all about what’s happening in my garden and beyond.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 02, 2010

AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .

Thanks to everyone who entered my "Unplug the Holidays" contest this year. Here are my winners:

First Prize to Leeann Lavin of New Jersey,

who tweaked the holiday color scheme with lime green hypericum berries nestled among rich red roses and carnations.

 go to blog to see the images :)

Leeann also hung her stockings on the arms of silver plant cups filled with roses, carnations and seeded eucalyptus.

But she forgot to take pictures of the table designs she created with kumquats, Peruvian lilies and more hypericum berries surrounded with angel beeswax candles. I would have loved to have seen those.

And the outdoor displays Leeann designed from evergreens, birch branches and pine cones gathered from her yard were buried beneath the snow. You can't get any more natural than that.