New Orleans Botantical Garden

March 3, 2017

My second attempt to visit the New Orleans Botanical Garden was successful.  I was amazed at the range of plants in bloom, from normal spring flowers to plants I associate with early summer.

The day was so bright that I fought to get decent pictures of flowers. Bees, butterflies, and dragonflies added to the color and movement.

A look across the entrance garden to more blooms across the street

Huge live oaks grow between the street and the garden rooms. 

The garden is quite small but is laid out in a series of "rooms" formed by very tall hedges and  connected by long "hallways" that give beautiful sight lines. Different rooms were dedicated to different kinds of plants.  One of my favorites was the room of antique roses.  Other rooms were dedicated to spring flowering plants. However the hot weather was causing most of the azaleas and camellias to finish blooming early and to make the tulips blooms finish early.  I also enjoyed the speciality gardens, including the railroad garden, the vegetable garden and the butterfly garden.

Volunteers were working in the large vegetable garden

The most amazing things I saw in the vegetable garden were spaghetti squash blooms

One of the most stunning hardscapes was the living wall behind a black splash fountain

The living wall extended to form a gate to one of the main paths

The buildings added to the loveliness of the landscape - this housed the ferns, bromeliads, and orchids 

The reflecting pool added to the view

The huge philodendron drew me in

I shot this picture down the tube of a relative of angel trumpet that was growing inside the rainforest area of a greenhouse

I was amazed to see bottle bush in bloom

But the kumquats are normal for this time of year

Blooming abutilons were an amazement 

Loved this juxtaposition of the two species of tulips

The most awesome thing I saw at the garden was the speed at which the waterlilies were opening. I went by the pond soon after the garden opened and saw that the waterlilies had buds but no flowers.  Before I left, I went by the pond again and saw some lilies had opened and other formerly tight buds were now showing color. It seems that many plants are rushing their blooming.

Water lilies were in bud around 11:00

And were in almost full flower a few hours later

And other species of lilies were showing color when I checked them a second time

A large grassy mall area had this tree and gardens around it

Monarchs were already in residence and seemed to be mating

More butterfly plants were ready for their pollinators

A few dragonflies were also enjoying hunting in the garden

A white shrimp plant - not sure if the hummingbirds like this color as much as the pink which was also blooming

This blooming lily really surprised me - I think of them as summer plants

These are just a few of the pictures I took.  I'll share some others with you later. One of the most surprising areas was the railroad garden.  Stay tuned. 

Day and Night at Norfolk Botantical Garden

My  friend, Les, newly morphed from virtual to real, and his wife, Shelly, invited me to come spend a night with them in Norfolk.  Les wanted to personally show me the garden he helps manage, the Norfolk Botanical Garden. I arrived at his house after a long day of playing my way through the Virginia Beach area, including visiting the Back Bay National Wildlife Area and First Landing State Park.  As soon as I met Shelly, and brought my stuff in,  Les and I were off to visit the garden.  

There is a fabulous lantern show there called Asian Lanterns.  The features are huge and are interesting by both day and night, but become magical at dusk. 

We arrived early enough to grab a golf cart and get quick overview of the garden.  Spring is starting up and more and more buds are bursting into bloom.  I only had time and light for a few quick shots. 

This is one of the saucer magnolias

I adored all the different things going on here. 

I think this a white star Magnolia

We got to this sculpture as the setting sunlight was captured by the glass leaves

Sunset afterglow

Then it was time to put the cart away and join the throngs that were moving through the huge lantern show.

A series of arches decorated with monkeys

Flowers were featured in several  exhibits

These calla lilies were my height

Some calla lilies were blue

These looked like tiger lilies with the blues

This was a huge display, larger than a party boad but set up on water,  so complete with reflections

These two swans would fill a large room

Head study of one of the huge swans 

Of course there were dragons

This was my favorite dragon

And lots of bugs in a big collection - this is a beetle

There were lots of butterflies scattered about - some moved their wings

Another pair of the butterflies - the one in front was moving

Even frogs had their chance to shine

A pair of harlequin ducks moved around  on a track over water

I had to take a burst of pictures to get one that was mostly lighted.  The lights ran through the fan

There were several of these monsters

They are built from little jars filled with colored water

This was part of a larger exhibit of panda bears and bamboo

The bees in the honeybee exhibit were a little scary

The goldfish were making kissy mouths like goldfish do everywhere

There was a whole orchard of lucky peaches - they are believed to bring longevity

This one kind of missed it's message - everyone called it the "Angry Bananas" but it is supposed to be moons and stars

But by far, the most impressive display was a huge castle.  It looked magical from a distance and got even more interesting close up. 

The fantastical castle

A closer look at part of it

It was  built of dishes - each added by hand, then the whole unite lifted and stacked with a crane, before being attached to the rest from inside

Plates, cups, bowls were all used

And there were even spoons on trays

All tied together

There were small houses around the bottom - each had a different figure 

One of the final exhibits was of Mt. Fuji

Afterwards, we met Shelly for supper and had an enjoyable visit.  The next morning, Les and I got up and went of exploring.   More later. 

Les earlier put out his blog on the building of the displays with much better pictures than mine. Check it out.  And hurry to see it in person - it runs until the end of April in Norfolk, Virginia. 

I have all my pictures of this magical place on Flicker. 

Thanks for visiting and I appreciate your comments.