Purple Coneflowers © 2008 Bo Mackison
Pale Purple Coneflowers.
Bridal Flower © 2008 Bo Mackison
Like a blushing bride waiting
Dancing in the Prairie © 2008 Bo Mackison
or dancer of the hula in the gentlest of breezes.
Sweetbay Magnolia
May 24, 2008 by 4 Comments
Sweetbay Magnolia © 2008 Bo Mackison
Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison Wisconsin
Scallops of Pink Lupine
May 23, 2008 by 12 Comments
Scallops of Pink © 2008 Bo Mackison
Does anyone remember reading the book Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney? It is a children’s book written in the early 1980s, popular when my children were little. Miss Rumphius was a woman who wanted to do three things in her life – travel the world, live by the sea when she grew older, and make the world a better place. She easily accomplished the first two, but was a little stumped on how to accomplish her third goal until she hit upon the idea of scattering lupine seeds wherever she went. Wow! She must have made her part of the world really beautiful. Certainly a better place, too.
I think these flowers are pretty spectacular, standing about 3 feet high. This is an eastern Lupine, grows east of the Mississippi River. There are about 200 lupines in the family, and many of them are strictly West Coast plants. Many more are native only to California. This sweetie blooms from now until early June, though if the plant is dead-headed it will send up a second, though less spectacular, blossom.
Garden Path
May 19, 2008 by 10 Comments
Willow in Reflection © 2008 Bo Mackison
I walked along a shaded path, drifting in and out of the shadows – sometimes held in the warmth of the sun, sometimes wrapped in the coolness of the breeze skipping off the water’s surface. And once I stopped and took in my deepest breath, the inhale of the sweetest scent of Spring, and stood silently, listening to the secrets of life whispering about me.
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.
