Dallas Arboretum Chihuly - June 2012 - Part I

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The Dallas Arboretum is hosting an exhibit of Dale Chihuly glass through November 5th. I was there earlier this month and thoroughly enjoyed both the arboretum and the glass.

The Dallas Arboretum opened in 1984 and is on the bank of White Rock Lake. We were there when it opened at 9 AM - trying to ‘beat the heat’ of the day. We walked around and saw almost everything by about noon (even making a short tour of the DeGolyer Mansion that is included in the Arboretum).

The Dale Chihuly glass was placed in interesting settings within the gardens. The Blue Icicles (they look like blue yucca or aloes to me) were the first pieces we saw before we even bought our tickets. There was a tower of yellow icicles. The Blue Polyvitro Crystals were installed in a rocky creek - like chunks of blue ice. The Red and Blue Reeds stood in water or at its edges. Some were installed where mist would rise around them or in front of falling water. The Blue Marlins were in the area of rising mists. They somehow reminded me more of herons than marlins. The Dallas Star was in an allee of crepe myrtle. There was glass on boats with balls of glass floating around on the water. Some clear and white glass forms were in a pool mimicking the lotus leaves growing there. There was a fanciful piece with green mirrored glass called Mirrored Hornets. There were towers of reed pieces. Ones I liked the best were the Scarlet and Yellow Asymmetrical Towers.

Enjoy the first batch of pictures below….there will be more tomorrow. The blue font above indicates the pieces that are in today’s post.

Water Lilies

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I managed to capture a classic water lily picture at Cheekwood Garden and Art Museum - crisp flower and black background. It looked good on the small screen of my camera but even better once I saw it on the larger monitor of my computer. So - enjoy my June 2012 pictures of water lilies from Tennessee and Texas! If you want more - check out the post from last November - Water Lilies at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheekwood’s Howe Garden

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The Howe Garden at Cheekwood Garden and Art Museum in Nashville, TN has been recently renovated so the plantings are just becoming established. There were three things that caught my interest: the rain garden, the botanical images stamped on the gates, and the thatch roof on the cottage.

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A rain garden is made to retain water with terrain and plantings. I had read about them but never seen one. The renovation to the Howe Garden included one that can be viewed from both sides of the bridge (the metal silhouettes of the bridge add to the view as well).

The botanical images stamped on the panels of the garden gate were of familiar things - lilies, lady slipper orchids, morning glories, and trilliums…and some I couldn’t name. They were wonderful images for a garden gate.

And last but not least the thatched room of the cottage. It was a thick layer of rushes, tightly layered. The underside, visible from inside the cottage looked just as neat.

Cheekwood Tree Houses

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As promised in a previous post - this post is about the “tree houses” at Cheekwood Garden and Art Museum in Nashville, TN. They are all sized in a way that children can climb up into them and were very popular. There were families and groups of summer-program children all around them so it was good that they were scattered throughout the garden. My favorite is a giant fish that has recycled CDs for scales!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a conch shell, a slide that was built with a ramp and sides with every non-walking or sliding space covered with plants,

 

 

 

 

 

a ship,

 

 

 

 

 

a traditional looking house among the trees , and

 

 

 

 

ball of yarn suspended over a pond (there was a walkway into it just out of the picture).

The excitement these structures evoked from children changed the tenor of the gardens!  It was a high energy place.

Cheekwood Garden and Art Museum

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Cheekwood Garden and Art Museum was my favorite place on a recent trip to Nashville TN. The weather was near perfect and the place was full of other people (young and old) enjoying the place. There was a great-grandfather looking for the Howe Garden with his granddaughter and her two children. Groups of children in look-alike T-shirts were roaming the garden enjoying the tree houses or in art programs. I’ll post more in upcoming days about the Howe Garden and the tree houses…so the pictures below are just an introduction.

The glass bridge (1st two images in the collage below) was in the forest. The dappled sunlight enhanced its appeal. The stream with plantings along each side was lush. The sculpture of a mythical plant (a combination of several) seemed to be what Cheekwood is all about - the blending of art and garden. Finally the owl sculpture was in very bright sunlight and dessert plants. There is something to enjoy at every turn at Cheekwood.

Museum Strategies

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I’ve been visiting a lot of museums recently and discovered that I very quickly settle on my strategies for a particular venue based on my experiences with other museums of the same type. I’ve listed the ones I’m most conscious of below.

Slow and read everything or fast for ambience. If the topic of the display is something I am really interested, I read everything - pull out drawers for extra information, push a button to watch a short video or hear a noise; in other words - I do everything the curators offered. This tends to happen in historical or science related displays. An example of this strategy, was in the Frank H. McClung Museum on the campus of The University of Tennessee in Knoxville; they have a detailed exhibit on the Native Americans in that part of Tennessee and a very well done video about Cherokee perspective. In art museums I tend to move through looking at pieces rather than reading the plaques - unless it is a piece I really like; it’s not necessarily ‘fast’ but it is not following every lead the curators have provided. I applied this strategy in the Cheekwood Art Museum in Nashville; the piece I walked up and read everything about was the Alexander Calder ‘Snake’ made of hemp rope (since I had never seen a Calder work in fiber….the metal mobiles are his best known work).

Pick favorite pieces. In art museums, picking a favorite piece (or 2 or 3) makes the museum more memorable. The Calder piece was my favorite at the Cheekwood Art Museum and Reclining Dress (pictures below) was my favorite from the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga. A Caddo Indian pot was my pick from the display at the DeGray Lake office of the Corps of Engineers in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

Pictures. When museums allow pictures - they are a great way to capture the essence of the museum. The Hunter Museum allows pictures in same galleries and I captured the reclining dress along with the information about it with my camera.

Buy the museum book. If the museum does not allow pictures - consider buying the museum book. I checked the Cheekwood Art Museum book for the Calder piece; it wasn’t included….so I didn’t buy the book.

Check out the museum web page. Many museums have wonderful web pages. The Hunter Museum of American Art has particularly good ones. My favorite painting was a picture of the moon through trees titled Landscape with Moon by Ralph Albert Blakelock and sure enough - they had a page about it on their site. There was also one for the Reclining Dress by Karen Lamonte.

What are your strategies for enjoying museum visits?

Gleanings of the Week Ending June 16, 2012

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Wood ducks - duckling paratrooper video. The ducklings leave the nest high in the tree when they are about 24 hours old.

Body Hacks for a Longer Life - infographic

Top 25 Wild Bird Photographs of the Week #15 - birds…and more birds

A Century of Learning About the Physiological Demands of Antarctica - severe exercise, malnutrition, hypothermia, high altitude, sleep deprivation

There Are Two Kinds of “Busy.” Is Yours the Good Kind? - excerpt from “It Takes an Egg Timer” book

Bamboo, A Beautiful and Versatile Material - It can grow 1.6 feet per hour!!!!

Does This Look Infected? Medical Procedures Then and Now - electroshock therapy, bullet removal, inflammation and the common cold, pain relief

50 Future Ideas You Really Need to Know - from Richard Watson

Top Solar Power Countries - The US is 22nd in terms of total solar power per million people, 31st in total new solar power per million people…..seems like this could result in a challenge to our long term competitiveness in the world

Solar Panel Technology Advancements - infographic

Around our (Maryland) Yard in June

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We have had some hot days and then some rains. Everything is very green so the day lilies are conspicuous with their golden color. They are doing much better this year and last year when the deer nibbled them to the ground.

 

 

 

The dahlia bulbs I planted in the spring are up but not blooming yet. The blazing stars are still just green too. Both will provide some color after the day lilies are done for the year.

 

 

 

 

The mint is back and looking robust enough that I’ll start trimming it to add to iced tea.

 

 

 

 

The hydrangea next to the house has a lot of potential blooms. They’ll probably be a profusion of pink by the end of June.

 

 

 

 

As I walked around I noticed some delicate mushrooms in the newly mowed grass. They must have sprung up since the mowing.   

And finally - the maple is settled into its summer state - lots of green leaves. Some are old enough to already have evidence of munching by insects!

Previous Months: 

May 2012, April 2012, March 2012, January 2012 

Botanical Print Fabrics

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Botanical images come in many forms - books of prints that began their popularity as the printing press and journeys of exploration changed the world, photographs, and views from windows….and fabrics. I recently took a look through my closet and was surprised at how many I found. A slide show of my favorites is shown below. Some are stylized and some are pretty realistic (image 6 is a hibiscus, for example).

Gambrill State Park

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Gambrill State Park is in the Catocin Mountains near Frederick, Maryland and is a pleasant morning trip from where we live. Morning is the key this time of year - before the heat of the day gets too over powering. We were there by about 9 on Memorial Day and it was pleasant but humid...then warm and humid by the time we finished our short hike. We only hiked about a mile through the woods - enough to see some of the highlights of the park at this time of year.

The mountain laurel was in bloom...and the bees were enjoying the nectar.

And then their were ferns - at least three different kinds. They were well past the fiddlehead stage and transforming swaths of forest floor with their floating green. Stumps and fallen trees peek through the fronds in the slide show below.

The mosses grew in cracks of rocks and nearly covered others making them look like green islands in the leaf mulch of the forest. They seemed to not grow so well on the quartz as they did on the other rocks.

There was plenty of evidence of the storm that came through the night before: the muddy trail, small branches with green leaves detached from their tree laying on the trail with water droplets still intact.

The insects were warming up as we got ready to leave; next time we'll try to remember the insect repellent!

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Water

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Longwood Gardens has a lot of water features and they were all in working order last week for our visit. I’ve included two photographic montages in this post. The first is of water features inside the conservatory. There were pink hydrangeas framing the pools of water as we came in. The rooms of tropics plants had water gurgling everywhere and water droplets on the plants as well. There were whimsical fountains with ferns around them and colorful tiles under them in the children’s garden.

And then there were the water features outdoors. Our last visit in the fall has been late enough that the Italian Water Fountain was dry; the water spewing frogs and the stairway of cascading water were all in working order this time. The blue Eye of Water was also in good shape for the beginning of the season. The fountain I hadn’t noticed before was the tall one in the woods that simply fell onto tile where the water quickly drained away to be lifted into the air again. It was a fountain the creator of the garden could enjoy from his house years and years ago. I liked the fountain in the woods.

Of course - Longwood has many more fountains and they host light displays on summer nights. Those will be a topic after our summer visit to the gardens.

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens:  

 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012

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Our visit to Longwood Gardens last week provided lots of images for blog posts. I’ve already posted one about the Catalpa Trees and Lilies and there are some other themed ones to come over the upcoming week or so. Today is a generic overview.

I always like the view down this shady pathway between the restaurant and the conservatory area. We almost always head to the conservatory right way since they only allow tripods (for photography) until noon so this is one of the welcoming views on the way.

And then comes the abundant richness of the conservatory. There are so many things to see - the children’s garden (even if you don’t have children), the plants that have been in the conservatory for a long time (like the Cherokee rose in the lower right), the bonsai display and then wonderful colors of other plants like nasturtiums and passion flowers.

Outdoors the tree houses are well established and truly in the trees this time of year. The tulip poplars are blooming as are iris, snapdragons, and jack-in-the-pulpits. The frogs were singing in the ponds….and one stayed still long enough for a photograph!

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens: 

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Catalpa Trees

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The catalpa trees were blooming at Longwood Gardens when we went last week. They were past peak but it was the first time I had seen them in bloom so I took a series of pictures of them.

Catalpas are one of my favorite trees. I associate them with summers at my maternal grandparents. There was a big tree behind their business and another in front of their house that was kept small and trimmed into a round shape. Both trees provided deep shade and, by the time of year I saw them, had the long green seed pods.

Later in my life - there was a large catalpa tree over the swings in the park when my daughter was little. Again, I remember the seed pods but not the flowers.

So - seeing the trees in bloom was a special treat. I had read about the flowers - described as ‘orchid-like’ and they do resemble orchids both in shape and markings. They are large and Henry Adams mentions ‘the thick odor of catalpa trees’ in his The Education of Henry Adams  but these catalpa trees at Longwood did not seem have a strong smell. Maybe different types of catalpa have more smell that these did.

Previous Posts about Longwood Gardens: 

 

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 19, 2012

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Scientists 'Read' Ash from the Icelandic Volcano Two Years After Its Eruption - A description of how data was collected immediately following the event and how it is now being used to improve model for predicting dispersion of particles - particularly from volcanic eruptions

Sulfur Finding May Hold Key to Gaia Theory of Earth as Living Organism - looking at the Earth as a giant living organism…sulfur in the ocean, atmosphere, and land

Study in Rats Shows High-Fructose Diet Sabotages Learning, Memory - what you eat has an impact…this study says reduce high-fructose and make sure you have enough omega-3 fatty acids

Statistical Analysis Projects Future Temperatures in North America - map that shows the temperature change expected by 2070 for the US.

First Gene Therapy Successful Against Aging-Associated Decline: Mouse Lifespan Extended Up to 24% With a Single Treatment - Research from Spain. Treatment has been found safe and effective in mice. The effectiveness was shown in ‘health span’ not just life extension.

List Of "Most Endangered Rivers" Flows Through National Parks - the Potomac is #1 on this list…that’s pretty close to home for me

Yosemite Nature Notes: Water - 6.5 minute video - waterfalls, churning water, gently flowing water, rainbows in the mist…and then it’s trek all the way to the coast of California; narrated by park rangers

Evolution Of A Glasshouse: From Colonial Glassmaking To Decorative Arts - Jamestown Colonial National Historical Park includes a glassworks!

Prosthetic Retina Offers Simple Solution for Restoring Sight - just one of the promising technologies to address the problem of age related macular degeneration; I hope one of them is practical and effective by the time I need it

Backyard Color of the Week: Yellow - last week it was blue….this week is yellow

Longwood Gardens in May 2012 - Lilies

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Longwood Gardens is one of my favorite places for botanical photography. The weather was near perfect for our visit yesterday and lots of subjects for my camera both in the conservatory and in the outdoor part of the garden. I’ll be sharing my favorite images in several blog posts over the next week.

This time of the year the water lily courtyard is closed but there were fragrant lilies in the conservatory that were in all stages of bloom. The buds unfurling with the strong central rib of each petal were full of graceful curves and color that tends to fad as the flower matures.

The open flowers are full of frills and texture…the powder of the pollen. 

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 12, 2012

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week:

Yosemite Range of Light (video) - Series of time lapse images of Yosemite accompanied with well selected music. Whether you’ve been to Yosemite or not…worth looking at. Double click to see it full screen (then esc to go back to smaller format)

Moon Jellies (photo) - an intersection of life and art

A Look at Solar Growth in the US - (infographic) show top 9 states (Maryland is 9th!) and the demographics on who is installing solar

Find out your city’s air pollution grade from the American Lung Association - infographic and tool using zip code or a map to search the data for your city

Encyclopedia of Life Reaches Historic One Million Species Pages Milestone - If you haven’t already discovered the Encyclopedia of Life web site, it is well worth a look

Carbon Disclosure Project - (infographic) what local governments are doing

Backyard Color of the Week: Blue - collection of photos of blue life (mostly birds)

Top Countries for Higher Education - the environment for higher education around the world....it’s a different look than we get from looking at single institutions

UK stat: growing population over 100 years old - tremendous increase projected between now and 2066. The picture is the best part of the post - implying that this increase in older population will benefit the youngest of us!

Road Trip in May 2012 - Shenandoah National Park Day 2

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Our second day at Shenandoah started out at a very foggy Pocosin Cabin area (mile 59.5). There was a lot of birdsong - almost as if they thought it was still dawn. The hike is along a gravel road. There was a collection of walking sticks at the marker post at the entry to the hike.

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Franklin Cliffs (mile 49) is, as the name implies, cliffs. It is an easy and short walk from the parking area. The green of the trees in the valley extends gradually up the hills - not quite to the top yet. There are different kinds of flowers here - lots of lichen on the rocks - and pools of water in the depressions from last night’s rain. It was quite windy and the trees made eerie creaking sounds as they swayed back and forth.

And finally - a slide show of trillium pictures taken at Shenandoah. The flowers start out very white and then turn pinkish as they age. Enjoy!