We brought our lunches over to the gardens. We found a nice shady spot and sat on a bench and ate in serene tranquility. The gardens were built in the 1860's and incorporated many of the aspects of the great European gardens. The designer traveled extensively through Europe to see what has been done and what could be done in the new garden. There is a circulating watercourse that winds throughout the garden supplying water to ponds and irrigation channels. It was funded by an industrialist with some radical ideas for his time, a reverence for nature and the the understanding that all classes of people need a refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Little blue flowere
Water striders
A sweet little brook
The gardens were located next to a large campus and theater complex
Dragon fly
This clock tower is towering at over 120 meters tall
Some bonsai
Who is that in the portal?
Holly trees
A large ceramic mural
Intertwined fish
The forest area
Big trees
A lovely canopy fintering the light
A silly topiary
Next door was a large building that was part of the gardens but it was closed off
This statue is growing
A little hut
It was
Very cool tilework
The founder!
Boats are never far away
Great bridges
Rock walls and flowers
A burst of color
Two buildings were dubbed the food factory. They told the story of food from neolithic times, see above, to modern times
Some fancy shoes
Grinding grains
To make bread which is less perishible
The progression from the original banana to the modern one
Crab apples to modern apples
The mighty pepper
Olives
Who might this be?
The progression of maize
Bees!
They have a tunnel to the outside
Trumpets
A vegitable garden
Lettuce
It was getting hot, a bit hot for the locals
The apple trees were planted in a mound
A hay stack
Back in our neighborhood we see a frenchie coolong off
It has been 4 years and 111 days since we began our Migration