Dear Julia and Poydras,
Now that we are facing spring, what is your favorite flower found commonly
in New Orleans?
Rollie Fredrickson, New Orleans
Well, I have to say I have a new fondness for one flower in particular, the camellia. Remember that big freeze we had during the winter? All the foliage outside our compound died overnight, but the camellia seemed strong. Our bushes have seemed to produce more flowers with brighter colors.
Other favorites of mine are azaleas, which color the city’s bushes rich purple and pink when they bloom in the spring. Also, the Louisiana iris is a real looker when it blooms, usually in April. The only problem is that the bloom doesn’t last long. City Park usually has a nice collection of them in season. The flower of the magnolia tree is the most fragrant. Roses, of course, are everybody’s favorite, but more universal than local.
I asked Poydras what his favorite flower was and he said, “Gold Medal because it is self-rising and good for making biscuits.” Next time I will have to spell the word for him.
Dear Julia,
I hear frequent mention of the “New Basin Canal.” Was there ever an Old Basin Canal?
If so, where was it?
– Redmond Jones, Abbeville, LA
Redmond, there was a canal which would eventually become known as the “Old Basin,” but that was only after a second canal, the “New Basin” came into being. Originally the canal was named after Spanish Governor Francisco Carondolet, under whose administration it was built. There had long been visions of connecting Lake Pontchartrain with the river as a way of moving commerce. The canal was the first serious effort to do that. Starting at the end of Bayou St. John, which opened at the lake, a 1.6-mile path was dug to the back of the Quarter in what is now the Tremé area. The project was complete in 1794. A turning basin was built at the French Quarter end, now the site of Basin Street. There were also plans to build a connecting canal also heading to the river, but because that would have required the construction of locks that was never built. However, the proposed route of the canal appeared on maps and became the namesake of Canal Street, although the canal never existed.
In fact, the whole project provided names of places that did not meet anticipation. Despite the song, Basin Street is not the dreamy place suggested; Canal Street is a main business district thoroughfare; and the route of the Carondelet Canal is part of the Lafitte Greenway, which is far more successful with bicycles than it was with boats.
By 1924 land for the canal, which had lost business to the New Basin was purchased by the city and filled. And along Basin Street the blues was replaced by jazz.
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