Atlanta Botanical Garden

Saturday, July 14, 2012

On Saturday we took off to Atlanta to explore the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Suzanne, Mary and Brenda in the Cascade Garden.

Mary joins this frog above in a moment of reflection. The beauty of the garden made it a good place to meditate.

The flowers in the garden were beautifully well-kept. This bee was appreciative.

Another nice frog in the children's section emphasized reading to the little ones. With that we heartily agree.

The children's garden was appropriately a playful place. Mary poses on a playful cow.

I enjoyed watching this black swallowtail flitting about the garden.

Mary with an unusual wrought iron gate. Tried the American gothic look with her. Highrise buildings of Midtown in the background.

The tall building on the skyline that looks like it has wings at the top is the 41-story Symphony Tower at 1180 Peachtree Street. Completed in 2006, it rises 657 feet.

Brenda, Mary and Suzanne at the entrance to the Japanese garden.

Mary with Chihuly glass sculpture in the garden near the orchid house.

In the garden between the fountain and the orchid house was this huge hibiscus, probably six inches across. I had never seen one so large! And with the sun behind it, it was spectacular.

Immediately in front of the orchid house was a pond with a variety of water lilies.

Now that is a huge lilly pad! It looked nearly three feet across.

The smallest of this assortment of lilly pads is the usual size I have encountered.

Besides being very beautiful lilies, the pond and environment was kept remarkably clean.

This subtle pink was an unusual lily color for me.