A Look Back at Summer in the Garden

I want to share with you a few of my favorite images of the Atlanta Botanical Garden from a couple of daytime visits this past summer. Keep in mind that some of these were made inside the Orchid Center, so you can enjoy the same beauty during winter.

Earth Goddess being hand watered | Atlanta Botanical Garden

I love, love, love this photo of Earth Goddess! How awesome to capture her hand being hand-watered.

My friend Wendy was visiting from Washington, DC, and we were just starting our walk across the Canopy Walk when we saw this...and I started snapping. This was Wendy's first visit to the Garden and Earth Goddess impresses...it's usually a first-stop when I'm touring friends around Atlanta Botanical Garden their first time. 

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

Keep your eyes open...there is so much incredible beauty to see, smell, hear...to experience! Mind what you touch and taste, of course. 

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

There were a LOT of butterflies, of various species, at the Garden on this particular visit. I got some pretty good shots of a couple of them. Even at my age, chasing butterflies is great fun.

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

I've always loved the lily pads at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and they've had them for many, many years...now throughout the Garden! There have been lilies in the fountain in front of the Fuqua Conservatory since it opened in 1989...when I remember a certain three-piece "Nessie" topiary that ran the length of that water feature.

I love the above photo not only for the gorgeous flower, but also for the goldfish just poking its head out just from under the lily pad. 

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

I've also always loved the pattern of dragonflies, although I tried as a kid to avoid them when swimming in lakes and rivers. They've been immortalized in many forms of art and their symbolism spans more topics than I can possibly share here, but the one that I think I like the most is "change"...something I've embraced as a desirable ability for many years.

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

These carnivorous beauties can be found in the High Elevation House in the Fuqua Orchid Center...lots of them!

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

The Nepenthes Pitcher Plant...stunning! Did you know that the Dale Chihuly sculpture in the Hardin Visitor Center at the Atlanta Botanical Garden was fashioned after this plant? 

If not, the next time you visit, have a look at the top of the sculpture and you'll see three pieces that have maroon colored lips. You'll immediately recognize them as Nepenthes Pitcher Plants!

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

If you love honey as much as I do, you naturally love bees. My mother is terribly allergic to bee stings, but I've thus far avoided that devastating sentence. They're fascinating creatures and give us so much more than many realize.

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

Growing up my favorite color was orange. It's now dark red, but I still love a vibrant orange, except maybe for the invasive construction cone! It's much too prevalent in traffic these days. But, orange flowers...give me all you got!

A Day in the Garden | Atlanta Botanical Garden

I'm not exactly sure how large this particular variety of lily pad can grow, but I seem to recall hearing on a garden tour many years ago that it can grow approximately six feet wide! These particular ones were several feet wide when I made this photo...stunning no matter their diameter! 

I hope these few photos inspire you to break out your camera and visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden, during every season! Throughout its 30 acres, there is delightful beauty and magnificent splendor to discover. Treat yourself!

ATLANTApix: "Maple Leaf Rag"

"Maple Leaf Rag" by Dave Horner

When tourists enter the Hardin Visitor Center at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, they're welcomed by the breathtaking Nepenthes Chandelier by Dale Chihuly...but there's more. 

Displayed on the left wall, as you enter the visitor center, Maple Leaf Rag by Dave Horner is a collection of five maple leaves, each nearly as wide as I am tall, ranging in color from summer-green to fall-red.

The carbon steel and acrylic sculpture, designed from maple leaves from the Garden itself, shares the same name as the most popular ragtime song ever. It was composed by Scott Joplin in 1899—more than 100 years ago! I did not know the name of the song but as soon as I heard it, fun memories associated with the song came flooding back.

The next time you're at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, look up and left to check out this beautiful piece of artistry...inspired by the Garden itself.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Levy Parterre

Levy Parterre at the Atlanta Botanical Garden

What is a parterre, you ask? In all honesty, before discovering the two currently on display at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I had never heard the word parterre. If the Fuqua Conservatory or Canopy Walk aren't quite enough the tip the scales of decision toward visiting the Garden, then maybe the Dale Chihuly-created parterres will.

While I love the Nepenthes Chandelier hanging in the atrium of the Hardin Visitor Center (Its bright greenness is actually the wallpaper on my laptop), the Levy Parterre (photo) nestled between the Rose Garden and the Alston Overlook is just as remarkable.

Starting on February 5, 2011, the 2011 annual "Orchid Daze" will feature thousands of blooms coupled with an array of water features in an exhibition titled "Liquid Landscapes." Or if you're looking for a romantic idea for Valentines Day, consider "Valentines in the Garden: Romance Blooms!" on Saturday, February 12, 2011.

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ATLANTApix: The Nepenthes Chandelier

The Nepenthes Chandelier

Welcoming visitors and foretelling a fantastical escape from the city is The Nepenthes Chandelier (pictured here). The centerpiece of the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Hardin Visitors Center, the Dale Chihuly-created chandelier's design was inspired by the garden's carnivorous plants collection.

Originally housed in the Fuqua Conservatory, part of a 2004 art exhibit, the Chandelier was later moved to the Visitor Center to ensure more guests have the opportunity to see its one-of-a-kind beauty.


ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!