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Entering Another World: The Gardens of Portland

25 Oct

Portland, Oregon, is home to three of the most beautiful gardens I have visited!

China Town and the Lan Su Chinese Garden is located just off the Willamette River near the Steel Bridge. It was a mile walk from our hotel.  So we decided to walk over the Steel Bridge in order to see it up close.

Opened for use in 1912, the Steel Bridge (yes, it is made of steel) has a central area that is a vertical lift, which moves the two-deck surface upwards so that high ships can sail under it. It is an amazing contraption to see.  Since the bridge has a Kansas City connection – Waddel & Harrington, who designed it were a Kansas City firm – I felt it was something we had to experience. Although the lower deck is built for pedestrians, we did not know that when we walked across, so we took the top deck.   At times, I noted that the railings along the deck were quite low, so I recommend the lower deck for walking.

The entrance to Lan Su.
Beautiful woodwork.
the teahouse.
Inventive ways to view gardens.
The amazing stone inlaid patios.

At the end of the bridge, it was a short walk to the Lan Su Chinese Garden. This delightful oasis was built in 1999 by 65 artisans who came from China and opened to the public in 2000.  There is a short movie that explains how it was built.  I was fascinated by the inlaid rock areas.  I even asked the guide if we were allowed to walk on it, it was so beautiful

The gardens and the lake create lovely view, but so is the wonderful craftmanship of the buildings and the woodwork.  You are able to walk into all the buildings and admire them.  The tea house serves a variety of teas and pastry. We had to stop in there for a snack and enjoyed to views of the gardens. 

When walking through the gardens, I did not think of the city around us, instead I felt like I was encapsulated in a hidden jewel.

China Town Gate.

Afterwards we walked to the Golden Horse restaurant for a lunch.  It seemed right that we have Chinese food after visiting the garden. 

The next day we continued our Asian garden experiences with a visit to the Portland Japanese Gardens in Washington Park.  WOW! If Lan Su is an encapsulated oasis within the city, the 12-acre Japanese Gardens is a paradise!

A part of Washington Park since 1962, this peaceful setting was built to bring healing to the city after World War 2. I believe it did.  You cannot walk through these gardens and not appreciate the culture that produce it.

Like Lan Su, there are buildings on the grounds including a Japanese Tea House.  Since it is a much larger garden, there is a learning Center, a Café, a more.    But for me it was the gardens that drew my admiration. 

You start at the bottom of a hill after paying at the Welcome Center, meandering upwards to antique gate and continuing up. Looking back at the views of the city as you climb the foliage is really breathtaking.  At the top you enter the Nezu Gate by the Japanese Arts Learning Center, where you can visit the Bonsai Garden. From there, you take the paths around the garden settings with koi ponds, waterfalls, raked sands and more. Every garden has resting spots where you can sit quietly and enjoy the views and the peace and serenity.

I think if I lived in Portland I would go to the Japanese Gardens weekly to ease my anxieties.

My favorite Rose.

Because we were in Washington Park, after we finished our time at the Japanese Garden, we did walk over to the International Rose Test Garden.  Established in 1917, this garden has over 4 acres of magnificent roses.  I was here several years ago when I first visited Portland. But we had to stop in to see the beauty of this garden as well.  There are always amazing roses during the blooming season. One peach-colored rose caught my eye, its petals resembled crepe paper.

And a wonderous mansion too!

Sewing Room.
Intercom.
Mrs. Pittock.

Since we were in Washington Park, we visited one more spot close to Washington Park, the exquisite Pittock Mansion. The home of the owner of the Portland Oregonian, the mansion took two years to build, with a move in date of 1914.  Overlooking the city and the river, it has magnificent views and lovely gardens as well. But it is the house that is the main attraction.

It was an enormous laundry!
Shower with many streams of water.
Shower in one of the bathtubs.
Sitz bath!
Freezers

The Pittock Mansion has many innovations for a house of its time.  The abundant bathrooms had all the ‘modern conveniences” with both tubs and showers; an intercom system: extensive laundry room and an amazing cold room. The door was extra insulated and the room contained cold storage. Mr. Pittock wanted the best and the most up-to-date home.

After the family moved out in 1958, the house was abandoned. Eventually the city purchased it and  restored it and opened it to the public in 1965. I am sure the upkeep is still tremendous!

Today it is a great venue for weddings and other events. I had to pose on the grand staircase. It was a moment for me to imagine living there. Which I never could, but really some spots just call out for a photo.  The Pittock Mansion is another must see site in Portland.

Steel Bridge
Visit

https://japanesegarden.org/

https://www.portlandpf.org/rose-test-garden

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My favorite Places in Iceland

22 Aug

Our cruise in July started in Iceland.  We arrived while the volcano was erupting.  We could see it from the road as we traveled from the airport to Reykjavik.   It was exciting for us because years earlier we were in Hawaii when the volcano was erupting, but the day that our cruise ship was going to be able to see the lava flow, it stopped.  A great disappointment.  Seeing the eruption in Iceland fulfilled a desire to see an erupting volcano.

Sveinsson’s home and museum
Art inside the home.
Woman WIth A Churn

We visited two off the beaten path places in Reykjavik that were in walking distance to our hotel.   The first was the Asmundur Sveinsson home and sculpture garden/museum at the Reykjavik Art Museum.. Honestly, I had never heard of him before, however one of his statures I had seen, “The Woman with A Churn”.  Some of his large sculptures did not appeal to me.  I think I like figures that I understand a bit more.  Before we read the description in the guide we used, my husband and I tried to figure out what some of the sculptures represented.  I think we needed to understand more about Iceland mythology culture to really appreciate the figures.  But I am glad we went.

The water feature sculpture
A small garden hut at the gardens.
Lowlying rock gardens
Loved this water at the gardens

From the museum we walked to the Reykjavik Botanic Garden, “Grasagardur Reykjavikur.” I love botanical gardens, and this one was lovely, especially since the flora of Iceland is much different than those I had visited before! Much of it is low to the ground and nestled into rocks and crevices.  I liked how there were paths through the rock gardens so we could get up close to these plants.  It was a quiet place to walk and enjoy, as well as to see all the families there enjoying the paths as well.  I am sure it is a great place for families because it is also free and open to the public.

There is a wonderful sculpture in the park of two towers and between them is a water feature that ebbs and flows.  It stands right in front of one of the rock gardens.  I enjoyed seeing its water display with the plants below.  The botanical garden does have a café, where many of the families were eating.  We chose to leave the park to walk a bit through the town and ate at a lovely little restaurant called, Ginger.  It was excellent.

My other favorite spot in Iceland was our at first stop on the cruise at Vestmannaeyjar on Heimaey Island.  Before our tour, we took a quick walk around town and decided to visit the Beluga Whale Sanctuary at Sealife Trust.   I have been singing the Beluga Whale song, “Baba Beluga.”  by Raffi for years. First to my children and now to my granddaughters.  So I absolutely had to visit this sanctuary and donate to support the whales.  Their two whales were rescued from show and now live peacefully.  They Sealife Trust is preparing a bay at Heimaey Island to eventually releases the beluga whales to live in.  I am glad we made this stop before meeting up with our tour.

The volcano to the left is Eldfell. You can see how high up we are. This area was once as low as the area to the right.
This was the salt water tank for the town’s pool. The pool is under lave.
Lava used to build walls.
This house’ backyard is lava!
In this area, this is how high the lava and ask got before it was removed.

I chose our tour because of my fascination with volcanos.  Years ago my husband and I visited Pompeii, the most famous of the once lava and ash covered ancient cities.  Well Vestmannaeyjar, has a similar history.  In 1973, the Eldfell volcano erupted for six months.  It covered most of the city in ash and lava.  Over the years, the people have dug out some of the town. But a large area is still covered by the lava.  We joined a group that took a lava walk along the top of this lava flow above the now covered town. Luckily even though this eruption happened in the early morning, almost all the residents were able to escape to mainland Iceland. Just one person perished.

Our tour guide for the trip was a local resident, whose grandparents and mother lived through the eruption.  They were fortunate as their home was on the far side of town, and so not destroyed. But like all the other residents, they had to evacuate.  She also told us how the town saved their bay from the lava flow thus making it possible to the town to survive after the eruption.   They took salt water from the ocean and continuously sprayed it on the lava, which helped stop it just a short distance from the bay,

The lava increased the size of the island by two miles, also the town was able to use the heat generated by the still warm lava for decades to heat the homes and businesses!  I also noticed that a lot of fences and walls are made from lava in the city.

We could see what was left of Eldfell now, but noticed there is another older volcano, Helgafell, nearby that still has the typical volcano shape.

I really did enjoy our lava walk and tour. But honestly, I also wish part of it was to visit the Eldheimar Volcano Museum. It was a great disappointment. But by the time I realized we would not be visiting it, we had to head back to the ship.  I guess I will have to go back one day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestmannaeyjar
https://visitwestmanislands.com/tour/eldheimar-museum/

belugasanctuary.sealifetrust.org

https://visitreykjavik.is/reykjavik-botanical-garden

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Chihuly Double Dose

19 Mar

I do love Chihuly.  So when we were in Phoenix recently, I was delighted to learn that there was not one, but two, Chilhuly exhibits in town.  Luckily for me, my friends were willing and interested in an adventure,  seeing both exhibits in  one day! 

Friday, February 25, was Chilhuly Day for us in Phoenix. We purchased our tickets in advanced.  The morning was devoted to the “Chihuly In The Desert” at the Desert Botanical Gardens, where the art often imitated the nearby cacti.  The late afternoon was devoted to a tour of Frank Llyod Wright’s Taliesin West and the Chihuly pieces chosen to fit this unique architectural site.

I had been to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix many years ago.  Even then, there were a few Chilhuly pieces at the entrance.  But I had only seen a small part of the gardens. Since I came with a group, we were kept close by on the paths near the front.  This time my friends and I walked the entire grounds!!!  We saw everything that was outside; the Apache household and native crops; the cactus and succulent galleries; the Agave yucca forest and more.  In each area, we looked for and admired the Chilhuly glass that was selected to highlight the natural art.

My favorite natural beauty was the crested cactus.  That was truly something amazing.  As well as the giant cactus that were highlighted by Chilhuly purple reeds.  I also loved this smaller twisted cactus!  Another amazing cactus insight was that birds make nests inside the cactus.  All those holes in a cactus are often a birds nest! A special protection coating is formed to protect the cactus and make a home for the bird.  It looks like a boot!!  We were also lucky as the cacti were beginning to bloom.  So pretty!

Crested Cactus, Boot for bird’s nest, twisted Cactus.

From my friend, who lives in Phoenix, I learned that pretty cactus are not NICE.  Some can almost leap onto you.  While another, that looks like it has a soft beard, in reality has a white soft looking collection of barbs.  DO NOT TOUCH. She continued to tell us to STAY BACK.  DON’T get so close. 

As for the Chilhuly, my favorite pieces included a giant gold, cream and white swirling tall collection of twisted tubes that reminded me of a yucca in bloom. My other favorite was a grouping of red, orange and purple reed like glass that made me think of flamingos. Of course, for anyone who knows me well, I loved the blue reeds!

I will admit, that it was not until we were leaving that we realized there was another exhibit of Chilhuly glass in a  gallery.  But we did not have time to admire it.  We had timed tickets for our second glass adventure.

 I really knew nothing about Taliesin West before this trip.  I have driven past Taliesin East in Wisconsin and been to a Frank Lloyd Wright house at Crystal Bridges in Bentonville. (See Blog Below about another Chilhuly adventure there.). But I really had not much information about Taliesin West until I learned about the Chilhuly exhibit.  Then I had to go and see the compound and the art glass.

Throughout the grounds, Chilhuly glass was displayed in ways to enhance the prairie style buildings.  My favorite, once again, mixed white gold and cream, with some sparkle right at the center of the complex, near the bubbling water pond.  The mass amount of red glass reeds displayed around the front of the home, some in dyed black water, was also fascinating.  And the view from the apex of the higher ground as spectacular.  Well worth the visit!

Drafting room

As for Taliesin West.  Wow.  His original plan to keep all the buildings open must have seen like a good idea.  But when I think about the heat in Phoenix, I am glad he gave in to his wife and closed the buildings in adding air conditioning!  I guess I am not a Frank Lloyd Wright purist.   For me the most interesting parts were the actual drafting room where other architects came to study with him and the small theater. 

I loved my day of Chilhuly, being with my friends, and enjoying these two special places in the Phoenix area. A double dose of Chilhuly was definitely worth it for me.

A Wonderful Gift At Crystal Bridges

Chihuly, Stunning

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Wonderful Wisconsin Weekend

27 Oct

In May friends of ours drove from Wisconsin to Kansas for a long weekend visit.  While they were here, we promised to return the favor and spend a weekend with them in October.  We try to keep our promises, so we got into our car and drove the 8 hours to see them. A wonderful weekend in Wisconsin ensued.

We packed a lot into our short time there.  First stop was the International Crane Foundation and its Cranes of the World exhibit in Baraboo, Wisconsin.  I had no idea that most types of cranes are found in Asia.  But now I know. We saw 15 varieties of cranes in areas designed to match their natural habitat.  Each setting had a small pond and marsh area. 

International Crane Exhibits. The Senbazuru crane sculpture.

The cranes range in size from majestic to small.  A pair of cranes were housed in each site that were accessible on a lovely pathway.  Besides the area devoted to the cranes, there were also walking nature paths through a meadow planted with native plants and grasses that attracts butterflies and birds.

We spent two hours enjoying the nice weather, the lovely cranes and the other sites like the Zen Garden and the Prayer Wheels.  My favorite was the Senbazuru sculpture of 1000 colorful cranes made to look like origami cranes.  I am glad we went when we did, as the Center is open only from May 1 through October 31.  I encourage anyone who can to visit it next year!

After a stop for lunch, we continued our journey of discovery by visiting artists who were part of the Fall Art Tour.  We visited four artists who were located in either Baraboo or Spring Green, Wisconsin.  I wish we could have visited every one of the two dozen artists, but that was impossible.  However, I will say that my friend and I did as much as we could to support the artists we did visit.

We love botanical gardens and try to visit one wherever we go.   Thus, next on our list of places to go was the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.  LOVELY.  I was impressed by the Thai Pavilion and garden.  As we walked throughout the gardens, there was beautiful greenery and flowers everywhere and having a river run through it added to the serene scenery and wonderful atmosphere. 

A walk through the giant green house, known as the Bolz Conservatiory, provided us with a view of wonderful tropical plants including a large variety of orchids, and an not-yet blooming corpse plant, was exciting.  When we entered the greenhouse, there were volunteers offering us a free plant, that we could put into a pot to take away.  Of course my friend and I each needed a plant.

When I say large, I mean large.  The Bolz Conservatory is 100 feet by 100 feet by 50 feet high.  Photos do not do it justice.  It holds almost 500 plants!

Another favorite for us when we join our friends is to taste wine. In fact, when they visited us in May we took them to a wine tasting at our arboretum, combining two enjoyable events in one.  They took us to a winery on the same day as the botanical gardens, so that counts!

We went to Drumlin Ridge Winery in Waunakee, Wisconsin.  There each of us could order a flight of 3 or 6 wines to taste along with a small plate of food.  We each chose three wines.  I like whites and rose, so I tasted the Edelweiss 2019, Drumlin Sunset and Marechal Foch Rose.  The Edelwiess was my favorite and second was the Marechal Foch Rose.  We ordered mixed nuts and pizza and a cheese board for them, while I had a soft Bavarian Pretzel.   Yes, I know pretzels really go with beer, but for me a soft pretzel goes with everything.  And I did snack on some nuts….especially the cashews.

Our final stop was the University of Wisconsin Campus for a snack while we sat along the lake front.  It was a quick and exciting three-night visit.  But I think we saw some of the wonderful highlights to be seen in the Madison/Middleton area of Wisconsin during our wonderful Wisconsin weekend.

Saving Cranes and the Places Where Cranes Dance

http://www.olbrich.org/visit/

https://www.drumlinridgewinery.com/

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Ralph, Pete and Bambi, Turkeys And A Flock of Birds

29 Aug

My husband loves to feed birds.  We have always had bird feeders and books identifying birds outside our kitchen window so we could not only watch the birds but identify who was visiting our feeders.

When we moved 17 months ago, my husband was extremely concerned that the birds would not find us!  He even put a sign up on our deck beneath the bird feeders telling the birds our new address.  Yes, he is a bit crazy.  But then he is a pediatrician, so he has never grown up.

Happily, the day we moved in, a cardinal perched on his bird feeder.  I was able to say, “Look the cardinal read your sign.  I am sure the other birds would follow.”  Follow they did!   We now have a flock of birds of all sorts lounging near our yard.

Our new, small subdivision backs up to a park and a golf course.  Acres and acres of natural beauty along with several small lakes and a stream.  The animals love it.  And our home has become a gathering place for all sorts of nighttime and daytime visitors.  All due to my husband’s bird feeders.  You see, he does not just buy any old bird food.  No, he buys what I call the Mercedes Benz of bird food, hearts of sunflowers.

We have had turkeys and mourning doves and chipmunks happily munching on the seeds that fall to the ground.   We see chickadees, finches of all colors, Blue Jays, cardinals, woodpeckers, robins, swallows, and a multitude of other birds gathering on the feeders, many times waiting their turn to eat.   We buy bird food in 30-pound bags, several at a time.  And yes, we do have a hummingbird feeder as well, which we recently moved. 

Our garden is surround on two sides by a limestone wall, one side by our house, and the other by a wrought iron fence.  It is lovely and peaceful during the day.  But we have found out that at night, it is a place of high demand and drama.  We recently put in a security camera in the back of the house.  Included in its scope are the birdfeeders. 

We have found it quite exciting to watch and the videos explain much.  We were going through so much bird food, we really could not understand how the birds were eating so much especially at night.  We found out that our bird feeders were being raided by a raccoon, who my husband promptly named Ralph.

Ralph draining the bird feeder!

Ralph would stand on his tippy toes on the fence and reach up to tip the bird feeders right into his mouth and just drain the seed. So first my husband put bricks under the pole to raise the height of the feeders. Ralph won that battle. He climb up the fence, climb up the pole and shimmied down to the feeders. Then another raccoon joined him, I named him Rocky. They did not get along and often had loud fights with growling. I honestly did not like that.

Now the war was really on.  My husband started bringing the bird feeders in at night. Ralph and Rocky showed up, but there was no food. Friends started recommending solutions.  Put a slinky on the pole!  Get a dog!  (Cats don’t work.) Then the best advice came from a friend of mine, who got us into bird feeding and watching years ago. She recommended we get this raccoon baffle thing that is put on the pole. The first night it was on, we just put up two bird feeders to see what would happen.  Ralph could not get the food.

Birds waiting for a morning perch to eat!

With the raccoon baffler in place, we can leave our feeders out at night.

But in the meantime, my husband had been putting humming bird nectar out on a low pole.  And one evening when Ralph moved out of the vision of the camera, we noticed a deer, named Bambi of course.  Bambi had been draining our hummingbird feeder.  So now the humming bird feeder is inside the garden behind the gate, and the hummingbirds are happy. So the deer is back to eating all of our sedum plants! 

Ralph and Rocky can no longer climb the pole, so the birds are happy.  In fact, the raccoons have not even shown up for a week now.  But our yard is not empty.  Now that the raccoons are gone, an opossum, who my husband named Pete, has spent some time walking along our walls at night.   He joins the chipmunks and lizards who already inhabit the hedges.

As for the turkeys, Tom and his three lady friends, they come whenever the mood strikes them. It has been entertaining and fun to watch the wildlife, and I guess feed them. And no animal was injured in our battle to keep the birds happy.

An earlier battle: https://zicharonot.com/2014/05/18/man-versus-squirrel-devastation-disaster-depression-and-destruction-of-dreams/

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Lovely Gardens and Amazing Fountains: Peterhof Palace

29 Sep

 

 

An afternoon at the Peterhof Palace is not quite enough.  When we visited this summer palace of the tzars, which is another UNESCO World Heritage Site, we only walked the gardens. But that is fine, we had already been at the Hermitage and the Summer Palace in Puskin.  I cannot imagine that the inside of the Peterhof Palace was any less grand than those. However, I do know that it seems a bit smaller.   What makes Peterhof unique are the unbelievable fountains and gardens.  Spending an afternoon walking the grounds was amazing.

I am quite used to seeing lovely fountains.  Living in the Kansas City area, we are used to seeing fountains along the boulevards, in historic areas and near and in the Country Club Plaza. In fact, Kansas City is referred to as the City of Fountains.  We so do love our fountains here.

Perhaps it is this affinity to fountains that made Peterhof so mesmerizing. But then I think anyone would be impressed.

Peterhof is like fountains on steroids!  The overwhelming size and number and variety of fountains is fantastic.  I use words like fantastic, amazing, overwhelming and awesome with a whole heart.

No one can come away without being amazed by the engineering that makes these fountains possible to run for hours every day without electricity.  Just water and gravity!  There are no pumps, just water from natural springs and one aqueduct fueling the incredible number of fountains. The gardens were designed by Alexandre Le Blond. I am not sure if he also did the engineering for the fountains.

Our tour guide promised us that we would see close to 200 fountains on our amble through the lower gardens.  I think we did.  Although I will admit that she counted all the water sprouts in each fountain separately. So what! They were still amazing.

 

There is the Grand Cascade and Samson fountain right behind the palace.  There is a children’s fountain with dancing waters. There is a secret fountain through a path of trees that sets a spray of water over anyone walking by. Personally, I especially loved the giant slide of a fountain, called the Dragon Hill Cascade. The statues of this fountain were buried before the Nazis got there and so survived the occupation.  You can see a display of photos explaining what happened.

Much of the Peterhof gardens, fountains and buildings were destroy by the Nazis in the Second World War. But almost immediately after the war, like with the other palaces, the country started work on renovating and repairing the grounds and buildings.  There are large photos that show what Peterhof looked like right after the war.  It is amazing what was accomplished!

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Peter’s private home.

Included on the grounds are other lovely buildings, including  a much smaller ‘palace’ that Peter the Great actually designed and stayed in.  It is lovely and quaint from the outside. We could peek into the open windows to see inside.  But it is the view from the rear of the building that catches the attention and you understand why the tzar wanted to stay in this quiet home.  The view of the Gulf of Finland, which leads to the Baltic Sea, is lovely.  It is so peaceful there, I can imagine him sitting by himself and just relaxing! Can a Tzar relax?  If yes, this is just the place.

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A lovely greenhouse. One of my favorite buildings.

If you enjoy walking outside admiring gardens and fountains, then Peterhof should be on your list to see.   To be honest, I went serendipitously as it was part of my tour.  It was a day well spent.

 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Peterhof

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterhof_Palace

 

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Visiting the Van Vleck House and Gardens

3 May

Another delightful site to visit in Montclair is the Van Vleck House and Gardens.  Once a private estate, the house and its gardens were donated to The Montclair Foundation in 1993 by the heirs of Howard Van Vleck, who owned this Italianate villa.  The house was built in 1916.  While other homes once were on the estate as well, this is the only house that still remains.

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The original main entrance to the house on Van Vleck Street.

The gardens are open to the public for free every day!  No holiday closures!  The lovely house is used as a center for nonprofit groups for meetings, events, and fundraisers.  I actually saw people having a yoga class in one of the rooms! What a spectacular yoga studio!  The windows overlook the gardens!

The house and gardens were a short walk from the Montclair Art Museum, just along Upper Mountain Avenue.  Our visit came after several days of rain, so all the grass was lush.  But the blooming season, except for the daffodils was not yet in progress.  I think by the end of May these gardens will be stunning.  When we saw them, everything was greening up, but not much was flowering.

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The formal garden in the back of the house.

There are several walkways and levels of gardens.  The formal gardens behind the main house are lovely. Staff members were setting up for an event when we were there, so we tried to stay out of the way. Although not much was blooming yet, it was a great place to get a good walk in a lovely setting.

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One of my favorite spots.

The Upper Lawn had several stations to check out.  You can download the Van Vleck house’ app and learn about the different areas using codes on the signs.  I liked an area on the upper lawn that had many daffodils and a bird house.  When you walk across the upper lawn, you come to the Mother’s Garden and then to a percola that was renovated.

At first, I was not sure if you were allowed to walk on the lawn, as there were no paths. But seeing the information signs across the way gave me some confidence that this was acceptable.  Also the Garden Etiquette flyer we picked up at the Visitor Center, says, “Walk only on the pathways and grassy areas.”  So we did!

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The Visitor Center with an Ap sign.

The children’s butterfly garden should be lovely as well. It is located behind the Visitor Center. (Where there are good restrooms.  Always important when walking.)  I also liked the colorful signs with details about insects and disease impacting trees and what to look for that lined the path from the butterfly garden to the front of the Visitor Center.  I was glad to see on the website that there are many children and family activities planned throughout the spring and summer.

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The pavilion by the Tennis Garden.

We did not go on the Rhododendron Walk.  It was somewhat muddy and damp, and I was not in the right shoes for that.  However, I did enjoy the Tennis Court Garden, planted where the estate’s tennis court once stood.  To the side is little pavilion.  I could, in my mind, see people resting there between sets of tennis, or watching those playing while enjoying the shade.

I hope to go back to Montclair and visit the Van Vleck gardens when everything is in bloom!

 

To learn more about the gardens and home, go to: www.vanvleck.org

 

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A Garden is A Great Place to Unwind

27 Aug

Being outside, enjoying plants and gardens, is to me a gift.  I love my gardens, but personally, I do not like to garden.  I have many friends who enjoy being outside and weeding, planting and keeping their gardens lovely.   I love to have my gardens planted and maintained by my husband and a gardener.  But I love my plants, my trees and my flowers.

For many years my father would garden for me whenever he came out to visit.  He loved it!  My husband and dad dug many of my flower beds and did all the original plantings.  But later in life, when he was not moving as much, he still helped put out the mulch.  And eventually we would put a chair in the shade and let him direct all the gardening.  Once he passed away, I really left the gardening to my husband and “John” the gardener, who we had hired when my dad stopped being able to do as much.

I make decisions as to what I like and where it should go. But then I step back and let others do the work.  I love nature, but my way.

My love of gardens extends to my joy in walking through public gardens.  When I can, on my journeys, I try to visit botanical gardens.  I have been to gardens in Canada, an especially lovely peony garden in Quebec City; and throughout the USA, including close to home, like the local Arboretum, a favorite place to walk.

In my recent travels to Hawaii and California, I spent much of my time enjoying gardens.  Let’s be honest, Hawaii is just one giant garden.  We were there two weeks before Hurricane Lane hit, so I am hoping that the lovely Flora on the Big Island of Hawaii survived.

On Maui we went to the Maui Tropical Plantation.   I call it a botanical garden of fruit bearing plants, besides just being lush and lovely.  We took a tram ride with a young woman who not only told us what was grown, she even showed us the correct way to open a coconut.  I am sure she shows everyone and does the same speech.  But it was fun.

We enjoyed walking the grounds and seeing the beautiful plants.

So when we were in California a week later for a wedding, we had some time to just relax with my siblings.  The one place I thought we would all like was the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, which turn out to be just great.  Only problem, most of the paths are not paved: wear closed shoes!!

Among our favorite spots was the Children’s Discovery Trail with its beautiful flowers, giant dragon sculpture and musical garden. We liked the tropical garden with the dinosaurs hidden among the plants, Dino Digs.  In fact, I loved many of the art pieces hidden among the plantings. We walked through the Australian garden, the reception rose garden, and the ceremonial garden as well.  I will admit, we did not walk down to some of the lower gardens, but from our view they were fantastic.

I hope everyone has the chance to be outside and enjoy the garden of their choice.  It truly is a wonderful way to relax.

 

 

 

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Monarch Butterflies Bring Joy

12 Sep

It has been a harsh end of summer. Hurricanes have devastated Houston, Texas,  and large swatches of Florida. Homes destroyed; trees down; major flooding; and entire communities destroyed in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. 

 Major fires are burning throughout the northwest creating horrible smog throughout the region and destroying forests and homes. They could have used at least 12 inches of the 50 inches of rain that devastated Texas. 


It has been difficult to find a bright spot. But then I noticed an amazing sight. Instead of the two or three Monarch butterflies I have seen daily the past few years, this year I have seen a multitude of butterflies.

 Our home is an official butterfly garden. We do plant flowers and milkweed to attract the butterflies. And we do not spray any pesticides on our lawn or flowers.  (I wrote about saving the butterflies in an earlier post. See link below.) So we have been hoping we would eventually see an increase in butterflies. 


I was still amazed.  I have seen swarms of butterflies daily since Friday. And today the most I have seen in years, along with a multitude of bees. In fact, when I went to a garden center on Friday, I saw so many butterflies I could not even count them! 

I went on line to check on the Monarch migration for this year. Was it better than past years?  I found mixed results. One said there were 27 percent less Monarchs wintering in Mexico this past winter. But another said the migration this spring equaled last year or was better.  

No matter what the experts say, there a definitely more here than last year. Something that can bring a bit of Joy. 

PS: Since publishing this I have heard from many friends and neighbors stating they have also seen a tremendous increase in butterflies. This is wonderful as we are on the migration path!!
https://zicharonot.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/saving-the-monarch-butterflies/

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Saving the Monarch Butterflies

24 Aug

Excitement rules our home.   Our milkweed plantings were successful. We have monarch butterfly caterpillars munching on the leaves. And thousands of eggs deposited among our milkweeds. We are doing our part to save the Monarch butterflies.

We live in the path of the great Monarch migration. Each year millions of butterflies come through Kansas. When we see them, we celebrate. Our children, when they were young, would have such joy pointing to them and running to see the butterflies on our flowers.

Our concern started because we noticed fewer and fewer butterflies making their way through our property.   And then we watched a documentary on NOVA, “Journey of the Butterflies,” about the migration of the butterflies and how their natural habitat is diminishing. What could we do?

The docent at the Butterfly Farm in St. Maarten showing us a giant milkweed and a Monarch butterfly caterpillar. This got us started!

The docent at the Butterfly Farm in St. Maarten showing us a giant milkweed and a Monarch butterfly caterpillar. This got us started!

Then we went to a butterfly farm and conservation center on St. Maarten in the Caribbean. The tour guide/docent was very clear in his message. “PLANT Milkweed. This could save the butterflies.”

That spring when we returned home, we had a mission. Years ago we had milkweed growing. And we pulled it all out. Now we knew that was a wrong decision. We needed milkweed.

It was too late to start from seed. But we learned that the University of Kansas was selling milkweed in Lawrence. So I messaged my nephew, who was in school there, to please buy us some milkweed plants.

He arrived the next day with five plants, one of each variety being sold at the event to save the butterflies.

Planting the milkweed we got from the University of Kansas sale in 2014.

Planting the milkweed we got from the University of Kansas sale in 2014.

My husband cheerfully and carefully planted them.   But we made one error. We forgot to tell the gardener who weeded our gardens for us. A few days later we came home, and I said, “Oh, Donny must have been here.” My husband went running to the front. And then he started yelling, “He pulled out my milkweed. It is all gone!!!”

But it wasn’t all gone. There was still one plant. But it was not enough. We never had any caterpillars last year.

This year was different. My husband ordered 2,500 seeds on line. Yes, I said 2,500 milkweed seeds of five different varieties. I agree, a little over kill. I bought him seedling planters with 100 individual biodegradable cups. He planted over 200 seeds. And he waited. Soon they were sprouting.

100s of milkweed seedlings watched over by our kitten.

100s of milkweed seedlings watched over by our kitten.

First we kept them on our kitchen table in the sunlight. But our kitten was a bit too interested in them. So we moved them to a bright spot where the kitten could not get to them.

Over 100 seedlings survived. My husband pulled some out so that there was only one plant in each cup.   And eventually he had 50 good plants to put into the ground. It was not easy to keep them alive. The animals loved to eat them, especially the bunnies. And the squirrels kept digging them up. He put the plants in our flower boxes with wire screens above them.   Slowly he planted the surviving milkweed in the ground. He put up wire screens around his milkweed plantsto keep them safe.

He also gave seeds away to our neighbors so they also could plant milkweed. His aim was sincere. Everyone should plant milkweed!

Slowly the plants grew all summer. They did not flower, something was eating the flowers. And now the mature plants started to look badly. Something was eating his milkweed.

He went out to investigate. And came back with a big smile on his face.

Two of the four Monarch butterfly caterpillars eating our milkweed. Seen the wire screening we used to protect them in the background.

Two of the four Monarch butterfly caterpillars eating our milkweed. Seen the wire screening we used to protect them in the background.

Four caterpillars were eating the largest of our milkweed. We had done it! We had done a wonderful good deed! We had provided a home for the Monarch butterflies. Excitement and joy!

I expect next year we will have many more surviving milkweed plants and many more caterpillars because now we are experienced in the ways of saving the Monarch butterfly!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/journey-butterflies

http://www.journeynorth.org/

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