Black Butterflies, Take 2,

The lantana and asters really know how to attract the butterflies. By July our sidewalk will be so thick with butterflies that traffic literally stops to watch them. Actually, they're usually watching me taking photos of them. "What are you taking pictures of?" Some stop their car and walk up to watch and I enjoy telling them about the plants and helping them identify each colorful flutterby. Well, those I can ID myself anyway. The black ones are a challenge, as I've already stated. Here are a few photos to show you what I mean. Feel free to ID them for me - we'll compare notes and see how off I am in my research.

I've been catching up on John's blog at Born Again Birdwatcher today. His series of posts about Japanese Gardens is food for thought, and his photos are exquisite. Reading these posts and immersing myself into each photograph I could feel my shoulders relax and I felt calmed. Nature in all her forms is critical to our well being. Butterflies have their scientific purpose of pollination, but their unscientific purpose is simply to bring JOY to the world. Gardens invite us to stop and feel, really feel, the world. And no garden would be complete without butterflies.

Purple and Chartreuse

My mother's front bed is exploding colors of deep burgundy-blue-purple of some special barberry and the bright chartreuse with red tips of a mounded spirea. The combination is breathtaking.

The barberry's tiny white flowers attract honey bees, which were working hard yesterday.

The blue glass garden globe complements the barberry and spirea.

Luscious.

The spirea will soon bloom tiny lavender flowers as the white flowers of the barberry fade. Within weeks the Virginia Sweetspire in the back will be draped in white columns of flowers. Her yard is so beautiful that cars stop to gaze at the colors.

I just had to share the beauty. Enjoy your days.

Road Trip - Montgomery

My daughter attended a leadership conference in Montgomery last week and through the weekend, representing her school among 150 other delegates doing likewise. She had a ball, learned a lot and made a great many new friends. Moreover, the experience opened her eyes to the future and changed her forever.

She had to stay on the Auburn University in Montgomery campus, so The Mama got to stay in a hotel. All. By. Herself. The hotel was new and located right smack dab in the middle of the exclusive EastChase shopping area. There was a fitness room, a pool, business center and great shopping and restaurants nearby. The suite had a separate living room with kitchenette, and a bedroom with two queen-sized beds that were THE most luxurious and comfortable beds I've ever, EVER slept in. I wanted to take one home. Actually, I didn't want to leave.

I decided to read and rest, pamper myself, and simply visit nearby gardens and museums. The first was Blount Cultural Park, which are the photos you see here. "Uniting art and nature which fosters education and the preservation of open space." This park was calling my name.

Driving in through curling roadways and gently rolling green hills dotted with trees and walking trails, this bridge, "Thunderhouse" and viewing deck, above, was the first sight that greeted me. "Thunderhouse," is named such as it provide shelter during the odd "pop-up" thunderstorms that are common.

Standing on the observation deck, this is what you see. There were Canada Geese in abundance, and many had babies in tow. There were many areas I wish I'd seen but didn't. The heat was pretty intense, and I wasn't acclimated to it. Still, this lush green park instilled within me a peace deep in my soul.

I was drawn to Shakespeare's Garden, which is located next to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival building. The bronze sculpture, above, is one of my favorite titled "The Puddlejumpers."

Lovely bench in Shakespeare's Garden where I rested and pondered.

These trees lined the paths within the garden. I thought they were sycamores, but can't find a sycamore listed on their website. More research must be done and I'll update this post when I discover what it is. Anyone know?

The lighted amphitheatre is the center for outdoor musicals, plays, concerts and lectures, in addition to being a prime location for weddings and receptions.

I visited the Museum of Art as well, but of course no photos were allowed. However, I was serenaded by two cute teenage guys who were playing guitars by the waterfall, entertained by children feeding the egrets and Canada Geese, and amused by the little goslings following their mom and dad around.

Getting away by yourself is good for one's mind. At first I felt a little lost, but the first moment I spent sitting by the pool dangling my feet in the water, a glass of wine at my side, I felt a wave of tranquility. I'll post more later.

Beauty in Small Things

The Huntsville Botanical Garden has designed a new trillium garden, complete with a trillium propogation center. They have created an area strictly for trilliums nestled deep within their woodland nature area. Stumbling upon it was a delight. A few were blooming, so I'm sharing them with you all.

The trilliums of my childhood were the common woodland variety. I confess that though I love them I'm not up-to-speed on identification. Naturally, I Googled "trillium" and found a plethora of information and a gazillion photos which served only to confuse while at the same time making me giddy with all the varieties out there.

I can share some discovered facts: "Since Trilliums may take years to produce seeds and they can not survive exposure to full sunlight and so are killed by clear cutting, plus the fact that they were harvested for medical uses by Native Americans and white herbalist alike, it is a wonder that any of the plants survive. While many species are quite rare others are fairly common in rich woods that have never been cleared. Deer will sometimes browse the leaves leaving a stand of stems." (www.2bnthewild.com/plants/H37.htm)

Their subtle beauty is the appeal to me. Subtle shades of green on meaty textured leaves, with glorious spikes of rust, yellow, white and reds...even some pinks. They practically beg you to get down on their level, as some of the blossoms occur underneath their leaves. Mass plantings of these will stop a passerby in their tracks.

Some identification was possible. Above is a Yellow Wakerobin, which can reach 12" in height. I LOVE that name "Wakerobin!"

The above is a Trailing Wakerobin, which hugs the ground not rising above the earth more than 4".

Trilliums grow slowly. According to several sites, many trillium species are on the endangered list due to overpopulation of deer, which love grazing on their leaves. I read that it can take up to 20 years for a trillium plant to get established and bloom. Thank you, Huntsville Botanical Garden and other organizations and sites for helping preserve these precious flowers.

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.