This week I have been out in my garden preparing for spring. I have planted over two hundred and fifty bulbs so I am planning and hoping, if the squirrels don’t get to them, that my garden will be filled with beautiful blooms. All this fall gardening had me thinking about a gorgeous fall garden I visited a few years ago. When I am traveling I always love seeing the gardens or arboretums in other cities. I took a trip to Dallas and while I was there I got a chance to spend an afternoon at their arboretum. At the time they had a special exhibit featuring sculptures created by the celebrated glass artist Dale Chihuly. Many of his modern sculptures echo the shapes of flowers and scenes from nature so to see his work displayed outdoors was particularly beautiful.
These white lily like sculptures were gorgeous set in the water so you could see their reflection and watch the light bounce off the water.
This same pond was filled with Koi fish and purple water lilies.
This pond with a view of a nearby lake was framed beautifully by this boat filled with a cornucopia of blown glass spheres.
I also liked this small creek where the turquoise glass rocks mimic the shape of the boulders. Their vibrant color captures your attention set against the orange leaves.
Then there was a this walled flower garden where this chandelier like sculpture became the crowning centerpiece. It amazed me that these seemingly delicate glass spirals could be displayed like this outdoors.
While I was in a patch of flowers there were several monarch butterflies who were dancing from flower to flower.
This fountain was filled with these glass blades that looked like red reeds or a grove of fall trees.
This photograph above is the test gardens. I loved the rows of flowers set against the changing leaves.
Then when I stopped near the test gardens a little squirrel seemed to be posing for me in this tree.
This is truly one of the most amazing art exhibits I have seen in a garden. The scale, detail and colors of the glass were unbelievable. If you ever have an opportunity to see one of Chihuly’s traveling exhibits or his Glass and Garden exhibit in Seattle I highly recommend it. These gardens left me truly inspired by their wonder and beauty.
