Huntsville Botanical Garden

Carroll and I recently met at Huntsville Botanical Garden for bonding and lunch. After lunch we strolled through the various gardens. Lordy, it was hot so we headed for the shade gardens which were filled with various trilliums and ferns, native azaleas and hydrangeas. And mosquitoes. Still, we persevered and got some good photos.

Some were fun to play with in black & white.
















The above photo is what these beauties look like planted in mass. There were yellow ones and these rusty red ones and some ... white ones, I believe.



We have no idea what this red flower is but it was planted in abundance without any signage. A low shrub with red flowers poking through the foliage. That seemed to be common - no signage. Hence my lack of identification here on my blog. I'm no Harvey Cotton.


However beautiful the flowers were I fell in love with the Frog Buddha in their gift shop. Is he cute, or what? So Zen. Ommmm.........................

Watery Wednesday

This week's Watery Wednesday offering is one to bring us a reminder of the spring to come. All this snow and rain and gray skies have been fun (ahem) but I'm ready for the heady scent of spring, ready for Eve's daffodils to pop up, smile and wave at her, ready for the mystery viburnum to bloom in the backyard, ready for Hattie and Bess to bloom along the fence row, and ready for the waterlilies at Huntsville Botanical Gardens.

"But for all that, they had a very pleasant walk. The trees were bare of leaves, and the river was bare of water-lilies; but the sky was not bare of its beautiful blue, and the water reflected it, and a delicious wind ran with the stream, touching the surface crisply."

Charles Dickens

Water Lily

Rainer Maria Rilke
Translated by A. Poulin

My whole life is mine, but whoever says so
will deprive me, for it is infinite.
The ripple of water, the shade of the sky
are mine; it is still the same, my life.

No desire opens me: I am full,
I never close myself with refusal-
in the rhythm of my daily soul
I do not desire-I am moved;

by being moved I exert my empire,
making the dreams of night real:
into my body at the bottom of the water
I attract the beyonds of mirrors...

Hi!
Dragonflies

by Moeze Lalji

Come on in
The summer is shinning
The windows are yours

Beer you don't drink
Tea you don't drink

You can sit on the sofa
Put your wings up
Life is bight

So just fly and write
Whatever you want
On my wall

If Monet saw you he would want to paint you
so that your beauty and these colors would be forever remembered;
this my favorite waterlily photograph.

Photographs taken at
Huntsville Botanical Gardens

Debi

Please Don't Throw Wishes at our Fishes

Just for grins today. The sign in the Huntsville Botanical Garden's Butterfly House reads "Please Don't Throw Wishes at our Fishes." I suppose fish shouldn't be eating coins and the like. I was sitting on a bench conveniently located behind the waterfall. It's just pretty. I love visiting the Butterfly House and think I'm about due a return trip. Have a lovely day, all.

150 Year Old Dogwood

This week I've been attending the Alabama Master Gardeners Conference in Huntsville, Alabama. The conference began Thursday, the same day the horrid weather moved in. Before it did, we all were able to take a tour of Huntsville Botanical Garden. And, for the 3rd year in a row I stumbled upon the 150 Year Old Dogwood in full bloom. My buddy, Carroll, is to the right which gives you an idea of scale.


Both sides filled with huge blossoms. I'm off to attend the last day but had to leave you with a little eye candy for your weekend.

Enjoy!

Huntsville Botanical Garden

Ancient Dogwood

I took my daughter to the Huntsville Botanical Garden to see the ancient dogwood bloom earlier this month. At the perfect stage of bloom, with leaves not yet showing, the dogwood was a show-stopper for everyone who witnessed her glory. People were sitting in the grass just gazing in its direction as she stood tall and bright in the sun like some goddess.





To get there, one walks along a pathway through a long green that's lined with trees and flowers. Turn left past the Aquatic Garden and there she is. However, her blazing white canopy is clearly visible long before you arrive. The sight that greets you above is her western side.


However, the prize to me is the eastern side where the massive trunk and branches peek through in grand silhouette. Walking up and ducking inside, you enter into a completely different world. The sunlight filters through huge white blossoms and dapples the ground, branches and trunk like a fairyland. All sounds are muffled, muted. Lying down beneath her and looking up is spiritual to me - I could stay there forever.


However, others want to do the same thing so I must share her with the masses. Her branches are so thick and heavy they touch the ground in places, and stretch out very much like Live Oak branches.

A view of the ancient dogwood and a distant pink dogwood through the Aquatic Garden.

A pretty garden bench surrounded by tulips and yellow flowers.

The Aquatic Garden

The Summer House
(this is where I was married)

The Garden is my all-time favorite spot. I may say that about a lot of destinations, but this one is good for my soul. Walking through the kaleidoscope of color, smelling the heady fragrances, touching textured blossoms and leaves, sitting by the fountains letting the wind carry the spray in your face, hearing the laughing children among the buzzing of bees and birdsong and wind in the trees is healing, spiritual, zen.