Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Playing Garden Hooky

Sometimes, it turns out that making the best use of my time means running away.

Right now I have so many commitments I don't know if I'm coming or going. Logically, the last thing I needed was to add another thing to the busy schedule, but today a morning trip the Botanical Garden with Hubby Tony ended up being just what I needed. After walking through the grounds I came away relaxed and ready to jump into everything that was waiting for me.

Twenty minutes after the Garden's doors opened I was parking the car in a almost-full lot. There was a large group milling around the entrance area, and when I got closer I noticed it was related to some type of event, but Tony and I walked past the mess and went straight to the ticket-scanning booth in the lobby.

Once we were in the garden, I was surprised to see that as full as the parking lot was there were very few people walking along the paths. The temperature was still cool, and perfect for a morning stroll.

We stopped to see this statue of a young girl. The sign next to it said it was entitled Cora. It indicated that the model was three years old, and the sculptor got her to hold the pose by mounting a television to the studio ceiling. The huge Japanese garden area was practically empty, with only two groups of people visible. One was three women who told us that they walked in the garden every Tuesday. The other was a mother and her children feeding the ducks and koi fish from the bridge. The rest of the large area was calm and serene.

A naturalized grass area was full of these purple blooms. There was no sign indicating what they were, but they were lovely.
One of the formal gardens had been planted with a beautiful assortment of orange and yellow blooms.
And this pincushion bed had sedum plants arranged in a fleur-de-lis pattern
The Chinese garden moon gate always makes me feel more relaxed.
By the time we were ready to leave things were getting busy. There was a steady stream of trolley cars ferrying people around, and groups of children doing activities with docents. In the parking lot a car followed me to my space, ready to drive into it as soon as it was vacated.

Five years ago: Freaking Bizarre

26 comments:

  1. What a beautiful botanical garden! I love each and every photo you posted!

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  2. Beautiful pics. I too love how a garden can make everything seem better. Cora is the perfect name for the statue as it means "heart" is connected to the word courage.

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    1. I wonder if that's where the word 'core' came from.

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  3. Cora looks a lot like Fearless Girl on Wall street.

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  4. How wonderful to be able to take the time to walk in the garden. It's a perfect escape. Yes, as the fall season gets going, the demands on time increase. Summer is so relaxed.

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    1. If I can make it through the next few weeks things should slow down for me.

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  5. I love the statue of Cora and the Japanese garden is beautiful - a very soothing place to visit, I imagine.

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    1. At times the garden can be packed with people. I prefer to visit when it's not.

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  6. What a lovely place and beautiful flowers.

    God bless.

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    1. I enjoy seeing what's different in the garden each time I visit.

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  7. Not a fun of busy schedules. I enjoy a good bit of nothing time. Garden looked fun. Thati very cool.

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  8. Loved the firery oranges and yellows. My gardens seem to be readying them selves for winter. That always makes me a little sad.

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    1. The changing of the seasons is always interesting.

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  9. Stunning. I wish I had gardens like that where I live.

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    1. The botanical garden has been there since long before I was born, but in the past 50 years they've really stepped up the improvements. Now it's world class.

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  10. A walk through a garden that you didn't have to care for yourself is a relaxing one. This one looked quite lovely.

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    1. You're right about savoring the work someone else has done.

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  11. What a beautiful garden. I checked on the purple flower on my Google photos and it says it's called Autumn crocus but that can't be right. It's not autumn yet.

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    1. Based on your search I did my own and believe you're right!

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  12. No wonder you felt relaxed after that. I think those little purple flowers may be autumn crocus.

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