Post by Annemarie Gardiner on Jun 5, 2015 22:42:53 GMT -5
As the newly appointed apothecary to the Royal Household, Annemarie had the privilege of the castle and its grounds as one of its residents. Attending to the health and well being of the King's daughters was not currently a task that required much of her time, yet she was not one to remain idle. Fortunately, within the vast gardens surrounding the palace were gardens where herbs of a medicinal nature grew, waiting to be tended and harvested by skilled hands. She saw no reason not to turn her hand to that task, especially as she wished to ensure a thorough stock was laid by for the upcoming winter months; tending to those gardens also allowed her to see what was grown and what needed to be augmented with the spring.
Some of the beds were raised, making it easier for her to work. The gardens themselves were a marvel of engineering and architecture, incorporating practicality with aesthetics in an unusual manner seldom seen. Then again, only the very wealthy could afford to invest in the development and creation of those aspects. Coming closer to one of the beds, Annemarie paused, bending to inspect the based and how it allowed for irrigation through a series of interconnected, clever little troughs that flowed from a cistern, disguised to look like a standing bird bath. It collected dew and rainwater, she noted, then flowed into the eight beds surrounding the central fixture like spokes on a wheel.
Fascinated, she paid no heed to anyone who might be approaching, exploring the mechanisms of the self-contained irrigation system. Confident that the design and implementation had to be of Romanov origin, she reminded herself to bring it up to Alexander over dinner, the better to learn which member of his vast family had such a stroke of genius. Annemarie intended to see if something similar could be constructed for the gardens that would be planted in the spring at their home outside of the city. Fingers moved over the stone, feeling the varied grooves and nuances, presenting an amusing sight to anyone who came closer.
So much for dignity....
@floragardiner