New Friends and Cherry Pie

So many of my blog friends are expressing the same lament: not enough time to get everything done; blogging seems to be at the top of the list of back burner projects. And I am no different. I have a photo library full of photos that will probably not make the blog and inspirations for blog ideas rattling around in my brain that will be forgotten by the time I need true inspiration to get past writer's block.

Having recognized that we are busy and otherwise engaged, I want to share my trip to the Denver Botanical Gardens. I will be interrupted as the little girls will soon arrive for a horseback riding lesson, but that is how my life goes--interruptions.

If you do not follow PomPom, you should, for she is a delightful, beautiful lady who writes such a warm, inspirational, happy blog. I always leave her blog with a smile and since I generally read my blogs early in the morning, I always start my day with a smile. My blog friends make me smile, getting my day off to a good start. I knew that she lives in Denver, so I invited her to join me for a walk about the Denver Botanical Gardens. She accepted my invitation. I would know her by her white hair and she would know me by my straw hat.

I caught my first glimpse of her as I turned the corner of 11th Avenue onto York, she was standing at the front entrance. I parked in the parking garage then headed to meet her.

It was as though we were old friends. We have so much in common that we kept a stead stream of chatter: grandmothers, retired teachers--English teachers, no less--, gardeners. We walked the garden paths, lingered here and there, had some lunch then sought out the trails that we might have missed, and finally engaged a youngster to take our photo. 

The gardens were a perfect place to begin a new friendship. We exchanged garden woes and successes, asked each other if we knew that plant or another. Some of them we knew, some we didn't. What a wonderful day and at day's end we have made a  new friendship. The weather was warm, but not hot. No rain. Just an all around perfect day.

Take a walk with us, now. Not only are the gardens themselves spectacular mid summer, but this year they are decorated with hand blown glass art by Dale Chihuly who, according to the gardens' brochure, is world renowned for bringing glass blowing from a craft to an art. He has exhibits all over the world, including the one at the Denver location. 

This is first piece of glass art that we see. Amazing to realize that it is hand blown glass.

The same piece from across the gardens.

All through the gardens, glass sculptures are placed so that they reflect and compliment the landscape. 

Of course, I was particularly interested in the water gardens and the plant specimens. 

And how does your garden grow? With cockleshells and little maids all in a row? A neatly mulched kitchen garden. We loved the pansies as companion plants.

Bubbles and Balls.

The photo just does not do this glass art justice. From here, it is very had to distinguish it as glass. It looks like a giant water aloe vera.

Red hot pokers, glass, naturally, juxtaposed with tall pines and high rise apartments in the dry lands exhibit.

The Japanese or Asian garden is beautiful as it is, but add giant floating glass bubbles and you have amazing. 

I had to wait in line, practically, to get this fellow's photo. He was taking his time on the giant hydrangea.

And more bubbles.

I took this same photo in May when I attended the plant sale. Quite a different look. The water plants are all in bloom and the garden beds have been planted.

Inside the tropical garden, it is quite hard to distinguish the glass are from the real thing. Can you guess which is glass?

This piece is stunning although the photo does not do it justice. I heard another viewer remark about how beautiful the sculputers were at night lit up.

OOOOh. These are pretty.

Here we are: The lady with the white hair and the lady with the straw hat.

The garden does not necessarily have a lot ancient Greek sculpture or garden art, thankfully. so this rather modern looking princess with a frog (prince) was so pretty and different.

These look like giant ice blocks.

I was quite remiss in reading signs for the exhibits; we were too busy chatting.

We decided that these represent either great herons or flamingos, perhaps.

We arrived at 10:00, an hour after the gardens open. By noon the crowds had arrived. I took this photo to show the sheer number of visitors. There wasn't a special event going on to attract a crowd, just lots and lots of people wandering, looking, oooooohing and ahhhhhing just as we did, enjoying a beautiful day in the gardens.

We had such a lovely day that ended with promises that we would meet again, perhaps in my little town that has no less than 5 antique stores. And Pom Pom had a sweet little gift for me. She told me a little secret that she likes to leave gnomes in friends' gardens, unbeknownst to them. I love my little gnome. Mr. and Mrs. Gnome in the courtyard garden don't know it, but they are going to get a permanent house guest. I hope he is a gentleman. Look, he brings gifts, too.

Back at home, I have some new voices in the garden. Love this bee balm, or monarda.

Just planted, this daisy was luscious at Lowe's but wilted down some after I planted it. I will dead it, hoping that will bloom again before fall.

Crazy for echinacea, this orange one, also newly planted, compliments the prairie sun rudbeckia in the center garden.

From the other side of the garden, the monarda is quite showy.

Saved from Jen's garden before they sold their little cottage, I planted this lovely lily with great grandma's tiger lilies. This is its first year, and I love the brownish pink color.

This lily photographs nicely after the rain.

And while there are not many, the grapes continue to develop. I am excited.

My flower hanging baskets succumbed to my lack of watering, so I replaced them with 2fer 10 dollar strawberries in baskets. I love seeing the red berries. At the end of the season I will transplant the plants in the berry patch.

Speaking of berries, I found a berry thief in the raspberry patch. 

Our little North Star Dwarf cherry tree finally produced enough cherries for a pie.

It was yum. We invited friends for desert. It was pretty good.

I always make a cinnamon roll with left over crust. I took the hot pie plate out of the oven and placed it on the cool glass cook top and it immediately shattered. I cleaned up the shattered glass and as an after thought took this picture. The Pyrex pie plate is new. I am wondering if the new ones are as sturdy and tempered as the old ones. My guest concurred. Yes, I threw out the roll.

I have been thinking that perhaps I should come visit you. We could meet at your local garden. I'd wear my straw hat. What might you wear? I wouldn't have a problem in the US, but I need to renew my passport if I want to travel out of the country. Wouldn't that be a kick, traveling the world meeting my blog friends?

The little girls had their riding lesson. They listened to their teacher and I think they learned a bit more about how to make Pop follow their commands.

The weather this week has been very cool and wet with thunder storms every afternoon, rather atypical for July in Northern Colorado, but I have enjoyed the coolness--great for sleeping with windows open.

I have taken up quite enough of your time. This is a rather long post. But thanks for visiting.  I hope you have a wonder week.