Most of my girls and a dear friend visited the Idaho Botanical Garden with me on Melody’s birthday this year. I had never been there before, always wanting to, but never able to drag myself away from my own garden on a sunny day. This year I bought a year long family pass. I hope to visit regularly throughout the season as part of my gardening. That is, I see it’s potential as a source of ideas, as well as a nice place to stroll.
This particular day was crisp and cool. Not much was blooming, but I found much enjoyment in the bare bones design that can make or break a garden this time of year. Everything was organized, but without rigidity. The staff was friendly and the layout was flowing. (However, the map we were given still has us puzzled.) We discovered plants we had never seen before. The ubiquitous sage brush of arid Idaho deserts was used tastefully throughout, in some places being pruned in a way that lent it a stature in landscaping hitherto unimagined. Of course, being on site of the old penitentiary had it’s effect, too. Here are a few photos of the beauty, fun, and creativity.
(The wisteria arches)
(“Guard Dogs On Duty”)
(Prison walls)
(winter jasmine)
(box elder beetles, I’m told)
(comparative grasses)
(mountain kittentails!)
(had the word “spider” in the name somewhere….)
