Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff. The castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, built between 1267 and 1277. John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle ruins in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, he employed the architect William Burges to reconstruct the castle as a summer residence. Burges rebuilt the outside before his death in 1881, and the interior work was finished by his team in 1891; it featured elaborate decorations including extensive use of symbolism drawing on themes from classical mythology and legend. Crichton-Stuart planted a vineyard just below the castle, where wine production continued until the First World War. Castell Coch is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of Victorian architecture. (Full article...)
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species of bulbousflowering plants in the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. It is native to Central Asia, South Asia, and northeastern Iran. It has long been used as a seasoning and culinary ingredient worldwide, with a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use, including use in traditional medicine. It was known to ancient Egyptians and other ancient cultures for which its consumption has had a significant culinary cultural impact, especially across the Mediterranean region and across parts of Asia. It is produced globally, but the largest producer is China, which produced 73% of the world's supply of garlic in 2021. This photograph shows a bulb and cloves of garlic, and was focus-stacked from 37 individual images.
