“Group of women having a tea party in Queensland, Australia,” ca. 1887, photographer unknown, via State Library of Queensland.
Beautiful Platycerium or staghorn ferns on the wall and columns. These could be Platycerium superbum, which are native to Australia. The one on the left seems to be supporting another plant — maybe a coleus.
How quiet it is, how silent,
like an afternoon in Pompeii.— Louise Glück, from “A Summer Garden“
Love the little bed for an outdoor nap. So tropical with those ferns as the plant “decor”.
After looking at this photo a bit more, I feel as if the ferns are offering a commentary on the inner life of the tightly laced women. The daybed becomes almost suggestive.
[…] More well-furnished porches in Queensland, Australia. . . […]
[…] Staghorn ferns ornament the narrow porch of the Lands and Works Office, Brisbane, Queensland, 1904, photographer unidentified, via State Library of Queensland. […]