I was very fortunate to be at Como Park the other evening. It had been a beautiful day and many people were enjoying the evening and the park. There were people walking, biking, running, flying kites, setting up hammocks between trees, picnicking, and taking in all that our urban park offers, including a recent high school graduate celebrating his accomplishment. The sun was fighting through the hazy clouds on the western horizon, but it threw a lovely light on the waterfall on the right side of the Frog Pond. And that same light was streaming through the glass of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. How lucky I was to be there at this very moment.
McNeely Conservatory
Water lilies
As we enter the last third of summer, our lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin are starting to bloom with water lilies. Looking across the water surface you can see areas of white and yellow. We’ve seen muskrats enjoying a meal of water lilies, and deer will also wade into the water to graze on them. This water lily is not endanger of being eaten as I photographed it at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park. Like its “wild” relatives it was happy to open its petals to the bright sun and soak up the trailing end of summer.
Yellow is a lovely sign of spring
Our landscape has been white for so very long that a bright burst of yellow is a true signal of spring. I spent some time at the McNeely Conservatory where it is spring, under glass. Yellow and red tulips, ranunculus, crocus, and daffodils are wonderful (and needed) reminders of the season of spring. These yellow tulips were set off by the blue reflection of the sky in the water behind them. Soon enough we will have spring outside too, and not need to go inside to experience it.
A colorful flourish to the end of summer
Last week I celebrated what now seems to have been a colorful flourish to the end of summer. I sent some time at the McNeely Conservatory in Como Park. The sunken garden was filled with its summer flowers, scents, and colors. Since that day our weather has been gray, cloudy, rainy, and much cooler — anything but summer-like. How lucky I was to have soaked up the last bright colors of summer!
Spring amongst the snow
Easter and April mean spring. Spring means warmth and colors. Except when Mother Nature decides to put a white icing over the landscape. I spent some time at the McNeely Conservatory yesterday morning photographing the spring flowers. Outside the weather was cold and windy and snowing, but the conservatory was the perfect antidote to the weather. I was surrounded by the smells of tulips and daffodils, hyacinths and magnolias. In the bonsai section I found this lovely azalea. Its diminutive structure seemed to mirror the snow-covered tree outside, while its brilliant colors were the opposite of the landscape beyond the window.
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