Painted Tiles

I saw the panels made in Delft, the Netherlands at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. These panels were made of painted tiles. 
The Delft factories specialized in making painted tiles, combining with functional wares.
Groups of panel were ordered to decorate the walls of European Royal residences such as near Paris and near Munich.
Here are tin-glazed earthenware painted tiles 'The panel with vase of flowers', Netherlands, 1710-1750
The stages in making delftware were briefly as follows: clay was shaped, dried and given a first firing. Tiles were then glazed with liquid white tin glaze. The design was pricked through on a piece of paper, the spons,and when laid on the tile, the pattern was transferred to the tile by pouncing through the holes with charcoal. The outline of the pattern was clear enough for the painter to complete the painting.

In special cases, some tiles were fired a second and third time in a muffle-kiln at a high and lower temperature in order to emphasize colors which would not react well to the high kiln temperatures. I show you the details of 'The vase' - they are birds, butterflies, dahlias, yellow flowers, parrots, fasuns,  doves, etc.

This is another painted tile panel 'The vase with flowers', we see here a lot of flowers: bluebells, dahlias, roses, lilies. The decorative vase is placed on a stand. I show you a detail of this panel:

 

The floor tiles proved to be too delicate for heavy usage, moved to the walls. Single tiles and tile-pictures (multiple tiles combining to make a picture-religious, floral, etc.) were used in kitchens, around fireplaces etc. Here is a wall tile picture of a woman gardener that enjoys her flowers. I think they are Digitalis and Alsea rosea. 

Did you like these painted tiles? perhaps you have any panels at home. What are they?

Actinidia Kolomikta

Actinidia kolomikta grows in my garden many years, since a neighbor brought me a dry bush with the words: “I’m tired of it, it doesn’t grow and bloom. And the woman left Actinidia near my gate.
 

I had read that the kolomikta vine blooms in May - June with small flowers; their aroma is similar to lily of the valley. During flowering, leaves acquire a pink-white color.

Years passed and I learned that Actinidia kolomikta are relic plants preserved in East Asia since the Tertiary period, when the sub-tropical climate was in the Far East Asia. Later, due to the glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere, climatic conditions became more severe. However, glaciation did not affect some areas of the Far East, but adversely affected the climate. Due to the cooling, a large amount of the Tertiary flora of the Far East disappeared and only a few, including Actinidia, adapted to the changed conditions and survived to the present day.
Here are the photos that I took in August-18 when the light green fruit appeared on the branches, they were small, up to 2 cm long, edible. If some of these fruit remain on the liana until October, they become yellow green and wrinkled.

Generally I try to pick up Actinidia kolomikta berries until they fall off because the berries are perfectly ripe at home. They are tasty and look like small New Zealand kiwi, because Actinidia kolomikta and Actinidia deliciosa 'Hayward' are of the same genus. 
Do you know or grow this liana? Have you ever eaten this fruit?

Wordless Wednesday: White Lilac

Happy June!