I wrote a post last week for the Amazing Nature Community where I described the Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, NY (USA). All the pictures shown today were taken at the Planting Fields (some of them appeared also on last week's post).
The Planting Fields is a park and was donated to New York State by the Coe family in 1949. The property had been the Coe family estate since 1913.
As I wrote last week's blog and described the opulence of the Gold Coast estate, I had in mind another place, 30 miles away: The Asch Building, in Greenwich Village. It was in the Asch building, on March 25, 1911, that one of the deadliest commercial fires in U.S. history occurred. 146 garment workers died in the fire. It was a Saturday. The factory was owned by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory,
The garment workers at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory earned about $6 a week. The workers had been locked in the building. There were so many fatalities because the people were trapped inside, on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors. Many died as they leapt from windows, trying to escape.
It's all so personal for me. My mother worked as a New York City garment worker in the 1920s and 30s. She would tell us stories about those days. She had mementos from that time, souvenirs she saved from the factory. She'd show us these souvenirs as described her life in those early years.
I still have some of those remnants. For me they are a precious legacy.
Here is a picture of trim that she might have sewn on the dress of a well-off lady.
The trim has a characteristic Art Deco look.
Here is another bit of trim, rhinestone, which again has characteristic Art Deco flare.
As the garment workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned to death, locked in their building, plans were in the works to take over Coe House in Oyster Bay, and to customize it for the William Robertson Coe Family.
Here's a picture of Coe House in 1935.
Image credit: Francis Benjamin Johnston. Public domain
When I go to the Planting Fields I enjoy the scenery. I will go tomorrow, and probably take pictures. But I can't look in wonder at the splendor of the place. I especially cannot appreciate the mansion. The egalitarian in me cries out against the decadence of it all.
I hope you enjoy these beautiful pictures. They will will be posted in the LMAC LIL Gallery, and all will be in the public domain, for everyone on Hive to use.
If you wish to borrow a picture from the LIL Gallery, or if you wish to contribute to the Gallery, please do so. Procedures for borrowing and contributing are described in this blog by 
Thank you for reading my blog. Hive on!
| Arboretum Arrangement | Nature, Plants, Flowers |  |
| Hanging Plant | Hanging Plant, Flowers, Nature |  |
| Exotic Plant | Bromeliad, Plant, Leaves, Nature |  |
| Apple Service Tree | Plant, Tree, Nature |  |
| Cacti | Plants, Nature, Cacti |  |
| Tall Cactus | Cactus, Nature, Plant |  |
| Ferocactus | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Mammallaria Bambicina | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Fuzzy Cactus | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Small Cactus | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Potted Cactus | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Droopy Evergreen Tree | Tree, Evergreen, Nature |  |
| Hanging Plants | Plants, Nature, Hanging Plants |  |
| Forked Cactus | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Glymnocalyciom Saglione | Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Miniature Evergreen Group | Evergreen, Trees, Nature |  |
| Flaming Sword | Bromeliad, Flaming Sword, Plant, Nature |  |
| Hanging Plant | Plant, Nature, Hanging Plant |  |
| Kapok Tree | Tree, Kapok, Plant, Nature |  |
| Beautiful Potted Plant | Potted Plant, Flowers, Nature |  |
| Cactus | Barrel Cactus, Plant, Nature |  |
| Spiky Plant | Plant, Nature |  |
| Log Planter With Plants | Plants, Log, Nature, Flowers |  |
| Flowerbed | Flowers, Plants, Nature |  |
| Large Spiky Plant | Plant, Nature |  |
| Blossoming Tree | Tree, Blossoms, Plant, Nature |  |
| Two Hanging Plants | Hanging Plants, Nature, Baskets |  |
| Coral Drift Rose | Roses, Plant, Flower, Nature |  |
| Leafy Plant | Plant, Green Leaves, Nature |  |
| Potted Cactus Cutout | Potted Plant, Cactus, Nature |  |
| Cactus Cutout | Cactus, Potted Plant, Cutout, Nature |  |
| Spiky Hanging Plant Cutout | Hanging Plant, Cutout, Nature |  |
| Potted Cactus | Cactus, Potted Plant, Nature, Cutout |  |
| Barrel Cactus Cutout | Barrel Cactus, Nature, Plant, Cutout |  |
| Mammallaria Bombycina | Cactus, Plant, Cutout |  |
| Owl Statue | Statue, Owl, Decoration |  |