After a break last year we again stopped in Memphis for a couple of nights to see the wonderful Memphis Botanic Garden and added in a trip to the Memphis Zoo. What I am rather shocked to find is I am missing the photograph of the bridge in the Japanese Garden I was trying to include every year.
The incence burner with the pavilion in the background are definitely in the Japanese Garden so I know I was there. Must be getting old or just in a hurry.
Trying to confuse the seasons the tulips, azeleas, and red buds proclaim spring is here while the very fall looking tree may be a Japanese Maple although it is hard to tell from this distance.
In another sign of Spring is a tree/bush which may be a type of hydrangea covered with buds just waiting to burst into flowers.
Here I'll finish up this visit with some more tulips in front of a red camellia and a closeup of newly developing cones on a long leaf pine.
As promised we keep trying to stop here at Memphis Botanic Garden as we pass through between doctors in Columbus, Ohio and dad in Shreveport, Louisiana. Here in early spring it is tulips, tulips, tulips.
And they do have a profusion of tulips so you could almost dream you were in Holland but they have no where near that many. In every season the front entryway is planted in a large mass of current season favorites. This year they seem very partial to the multicolored tulips so I made sure to capture some of the solid color also.
Pansies, pansies, pansies seem to be used in any season and these add another bright splash of color to the page. Again I have my standard shot of the bridge in the Japanese Garden. Another measure of the seasons is the red bud and driving from Ohio to Louisiana covers most of spring in only two days so we see the whole pattern along the way.
Since this is the South the magnolias are also in full bloom so the young ladies can put them in their hair as part of their plumage to attract males and propagate the species. It's interesting that in most of nature the males have the attractive features. And another gardener's bane is the thistle which is a great butterfly attractor if they can fit in the garden.
This year we were lucky to catch the cherry trees in bloom. They line the entry road and separate the garden from the adjacent golf course but they have such a narrow blooming window that we normally miss it. Up close and personal they are beautiful but it is very difficult to capture that essence.
In early March we were caught in a Columbus, Ohio snowstorm so here at the Ides of March it was great to see the flowers blooming and only have to wear long sleeves and jeans. After coming down the Western Kentucky Parkway route we managed to arrive at the Memphis Botanic Garden just before they cut off admissions at 4pm which only left an hour to rush through the garden.
Here is the entry fountain from an new vantage point in the entry to the sensory garden which focuses on our non visual senses. Since it is spring, or actually the last gasp of winter, tulips were blooming all over the garden. I liked these for the small imperfections of red among the yellow.
As promised, every time I visit this garden I get a picture of the red bridge in the Japanese Garden from the rocks across the pond. This time the geese were also posed along the rocks and I saw no reason to disturb them. I believe the tree with white blossoms is a variety of magnolia with narrow shaggy petals like a rag.
The field of yellow daffodils were in the field off to the right of the bridge.
As soon as your foot hits the bridge the koi swarm in trying to convince you they are absolutely starving after a long cold miserable winter all alone out here in the pond. Actually that is probably true.
This little pond, sculpture, and creek feeding the Japanese Garden Pond is nestled between a lot of more formal garden areas. Here in March it reminds me a lot of exploring the 20 acre woods my grandfather had up in Jamestown, New York. His and my aunt's house are still along Idlewood Drive off Hunt Road with new owners but the property still has not been developed like he envisioned.
Tulips, tulips everywhere and not a cup to drink.
That is a really really butchered quote but the blossoms especially the purple ones look just ready to be used as a cup. This is not Holland but the smaller scale plantings were done well. Out on the far east side of the garden where I had not done much exploring yet was this nice conifer planting showing a patch of green against the winter browned grass of the lawn. Coming back to the visitor's Center through the still dormant rose garden did not give a lot of photo opportunities except these pots of succulents. I was just wondering how they got them to survive the winter.
One of the real gems we discovered in Memphis was the Memphis Botanical Garden so we have kept returning to capture it in the various seasons. In the spring the cherry trees out front are spectacular, the azaleas are excellent, the roses are wonderful in their season, and the Japanese Garden is one of my favorites.
The fountain in the entry walkway to the main garden rather sets the tone for the whole garden as the old majestic south. This huge weeping cedar is one of my favorites in the garden. Originally it stood here in the middle of a wide expanse of lawn that has now been encroached by additional features.
As I said the Japanese Garden is one of my favorites and I'll show a lot more views in later years. On every visit I've taken basically this same picture of the bridge across the expanse of gravel at the edge of the pond. Regardless of the season this seems to capture the essence of a Japanese Garden.