Bursting Hickory © 2008 Bo Mackison
Shagbark Hickory unfurling its leaves in a colorful splash of red.
Owen Conservation Park in Madison Wisconsin
Boundary Line
May 21, 2008 by 6 Comments
Boundary Line © 2008 Bo Mackison
“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” ~ Jimmy Carter
Reflections of Two Buildings
May 20, 2008 by 17 Comments
Reflections of Two Buildings © 2008 Bo Mackison
While walking the square around the State Capitol, I noticed this reflection in the Manchester Place building. I love the lines. My photo-Sherpa thinks I should entitle this photo the “Squiggly Building”, but then he was born and somewhat bred in Chicago and thinks it a suitable rhyme for the Wrigley Building. (The gum guys’ building – and that building is cool, but you probably wouldn’t know how cool unless you roam the Miracle Mile on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.)
Flowers and Veggies
May 18, 2008 by 11 Comments
Another trip around the Capitol Square in Madison checking out the stalls at the Farmers’ Market.
Gaillardia in Focus © 2008 Bo Mackison
Blanket-flowers (gaillardia) in a variety of colors – yellows, oranges, white and lavender. I picked up 8 of these annuals to fill in a space in my mostly perennial garden.
Onions for Sale © 2008 Bo Mackison
Even the onions are attractively displayed. I had to take a photo before I bought a bunch of green onions. A large population of Hmong farm and sell at the Dane County market, and the women vendors at this vegetable stall always have their produce arranged with an eye for an artistic presentation. Always a visit to satisfy many senses.
Plants for Sale © 2008 Bo Mackison
No flowers blooming yet, but the purple tags provided the color for this photograph, with lupine plants tucked in the background. More to plant – always.
Every Sunday is Green Thumb Sunday. Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers participate each Sunday; visit Green Thumb Sunday for more information.
Spring Walk through Olbrich Gardens
May 16, 2008 by 9 Comments
A late afternoon excursion to one of Madison’s urban green spaces to indulge in Spring and her beauty, the Olbrich Botanical Gardens is always a treat – especially when it is sunny and 65 degrees. ( I kept remembering the snowy winter days I spent photographing white and gray subjects from November until mid-April!)
Sixteen acres of displays provide an unusual garden perspective – a Midwestern interpretation of garden design, which at Olbrich takes on the dimensions of a stunning art form.
The entrance to the Gardens, the prairie-style Donors’ Arbor, provides access to ten specialty gardens – a few examples are the Herb Garden, Eunice Fisher Hosta Garden, Atrium Shade Garden, and Thai Pavilion and Garden. The botanical gardens and adjoining Bolz Tropical Conservatory have been prominently featured in the Seeded Earth including a winter post on the Thai Pavilion.
The Lussier footbridge connects the woodland Wildflower Garden to the left with the Alpine Rock Garden. In the summer, the pond is filled with aquatic flowering plants.
Attractive iron ‘sculptures’ provide background for the hardy rose shrubs just now leafing in the Rose Garden. The garden has been designed to highlight the shrub roses instead of formal garden roses that require chemicals to control disease and pests plus many gardening hours to cover each plant prior to the winter season for survival in Wisconsin.
The Meadow Garden offers paths for strolling, benches for relaxing, flowering trees for admiring. It is dotted with innumerable spring bulbs and demonstrates a no-mow alternative to the typical urban grass-scape which requires high maintenance and way too much time. It is planted with drought-resistant fescue grasses which require only two mows a year. My kind of lawn!
Wherever you find yourself within the spaces of Olbrich Gardens, there is always a choice of pathways to take you to new delights. From the tall native grasses in the Perennial Garden to the brightly colored spring bulbs in the Meadow Garden to the tiny conifers in the Alpine Rock Garden, Olbrich inspires all visitors-dedicated gardeners and casual wanderers alike- with its grand showcasing of Wisconsin and its botanical wonders.
