El Jardin Borda,The Borda GardenCuernavaca, Mexico
When Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota began their tragic adventure in Mexico in 1864 they used the home built by mining magnate, Jose de la Borda, as their country estate, enlarging the garden and filling it with fragrant plants. Amongst the scented herbs planted was Lemon Verbena which already had the common name Herba or Yerba Louisa having been brought to Europe by both French and Spanish plant hunters from South America in 1784. It had been named after Maria Louisa, Princess of Parma who died in 1819. Lemon verbena was also a reminder to Carlota of her own mother Louise Marie d'Orleans. The two Louise portraits are pictured below, from the time when lemon verbena was causing such a stir after its introduction into the gardens of Europe.
Louise Marie d'Orleans (1812-1850)Queen Consort of the Belgian King Leopold
Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser (1813- 1887)
Portrait of Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma (1751-1819)painted in 1765 in the gardens of Aranjuez
By Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-1779)
No comments:
Post a Comment