I think that summer might have finally started. I walked out of the north entrance of the Atrium about 1 p.m., on December 8, 2023, and was immediately engulfed in the micro-climate formed there. The Palms, Atrium, Mews, Ferns, and Rosecourt buildings, in that order from my right, surround the area and protect it. I passed the gardens outside the patios of the residents facing this area as the sidewalk approached the bridge leading to the African Garden and the Fernery. The temperature had jumped 10 degrees since I left the building, the humidity increased substantially and the scents of rapidly growing things all but knocked me over.
Okay, I'm exaggerating. I did not reel, I did not even teeter, but my attention was certainly grabbed, almost assaulted, by the smells.
We had some rain yesterday and now it is warm with a direct and powerful sun. The plants seem to be responding by growing so hard that they must almost hurt. The air was filled with an amalgam of odors, some sweet and some, rather rank. A curious, but not unpleasant blend.
I leaned on the bridge rail. There is no water below, only an artistic pseudo-river of smooth blackish rocks that curves away up to the Mews. Heat was rising from those rocks and stirring the smells of riotous living among the green life-forms that surround it.
I lingered there a while. I hated to leave. This was the first time this year that I felt totally immersed in summer. I did finally pull myself away because I was tired of standing and spent 15 minutes or so in the African Garden gazebo.
There, a breeze found its way through and cooled me. It was now just balmy, I was comfortable and the hot-house sultriness was no more.
Even in summer, the winds that usually blow from the southwest carry a coolness they pick up crossing the Tasman Sea. It's very welcome. Without it, we'd scorch under an 'inten-sun-ty' that is unknown in my former home of northern Michigan. I sat on a bench and thought about a recent trip we had taken to another plant-rich location.
A couple of weeks ago, on a day that was pleasant, but certainly not yet summer, a group of us were taken to Eden Garden. Waitakere Gardens sponsored the trip, saying 'Thank you,' to its gardeners by providing a van and driver to take the crew to see the sights in this volcanic quarry turned oasis. I was invited along as the spouse of a very energetic gardening enthusiast.
The following pictures were taken there.
Some of you have seen photos of Eden Gardens before. I did a post a few years ago when Allie took us there on Mother's Day for high tea. I tried not to duplicate the pictures that I took that time. I hope you enjoy seeing them.
Sophisticated
Waitakere and Eden Gardens! From the images you're sharing here, maybe they should be called Waitakere and Eden Forests due to all the lovely trees and bushes!
ReplyDeleteEach of your one-word pictures, was described perfectly though each of them is worth a thousand words! They are all so delightful! But your whimsical one had me stop and study and ponder it. Was it a butterfly? a heart? I decided it is a chair with a flowery tile mosaic that looks like fabric streamers at the bottom. And when you sit in it you take flight on butterfly wings.
Yes, you're right, it's a chair, and of a different sort.
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