GLEN BURNIE GARDENS IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA CONTINUED - 9-17-24 - PART 4

This time I am starting off with the Parterre Garden. As described on the pdf file at this link, "The Roman god Mercury takes flight in the center of this elaborate parterre (a level space in a garden occupied by an ornamental arrangement of flower beds). 

Mercury, the messenger of the gods, is also god of shopkeepers and merchants, travelers and transporters of goods, and thieves and tricksters. He's often compared to his Greek counterpart, Hermes. 

Many artists borrowed Hermes' attributes of winged sandals, cap and staff when depicting Mercury. This sculpture is likely a copy of Flemish artist Giambologna's Mercury. Giambologna (1529-1608) used Hermes's attributes in his version. Another version of Giambologna's sculpture is in the rotunda of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C." Above is a repeat description of what I added in a previous post. You can see my photo of Giambologna's sculpture from a visit to the National Gallery May of 2021, where I also share other photos of the garden here, at this link.I couldn’t help but notice Mercury’s staff called a caduceus, as it reminded me of the medical symbol we see here and in other countries. What I learned was the staff is typically carried by Hermes/Mercury, of two serpents entwined around it. There is an article at the Mayo Clinic giving a more detailed explanation here. Legend states Hermes discovered two snakes fighting and thrust his rod between them. The snakes stopped fighting and wound themselves around the rod. Thus, this combination became the sign of settlement of quarrels.

It is the official insignia of the United States Medical Corps, Navy Pharmacy Division, and the Public Health Service, first used as a medical emblem in the 16th century.  More detailed information at this link also.

There was a lovely display of beautiful plants and flowers. These pretty pinks below are called the Polka dot plant, also known as Freckle face, Flamingo plant and Baby's tears, with a botanical name of Hypoestes phyllostachya.

This is called the Giant onion, also called Giant allium and Ornamental onion. 

Its botanical name is Allium giganteum.

Next are the African marigold, also known as Mexican marigold, Big marigold and Aztec marigold. Its botanical name is Tagates erecta

I was impressed with all the flowers that were still blooming. There are more to share but I will end here for now.

I always appreciate your visits. Thank you so much!

Have a great day!

GLEN BURNIE GARDENS IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA CONTINUED - 9-17-24 - PART 3

 This is the entrance to the garden. I should say first that they are closed on Monday, both garden and the museum next door. You can buy your tickets at the kiosk on other days, and also inside the museum. Their link is here. 

This is all part of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. If any of you find yourself in the area, the address is 901 Amherst St., Winchester, VA 22601, and contact information can be found at this link. Their main phone number is 540-662-1473 and their toll free number is 888-556-5799.

I shared the daffodils in this post and also an information marker about the artist.

Photos don't do any of these exhibits justice, but it was fun taking them. I also love the old stone walls.

I explained on my previous post that the following are hollyhocks, and the piece was inspired by the original celluloid hollyhocks used in the production of the "Wizard of Oz" which the artist saw during a backstage tour at Disney World.

You can click on all the pictures to enlarge for better detail.

I am once again sharing a photo Gregg took. This is in the statue garden and you can see the crepe myrtle piece behind it. If you ever followed Greek mythology, the statue depicts a Bacchante or Maenad. Maenads were the female followers of Dionysus, often depicted as mad women who roamed the mountains and forests performing frenzied dances. This sculpture is a copy of a marble bust by Leandro Biglioschi. I couldn't find out much about him other than that he was an Italian artist who was born in the 19th Century.

Another view that I took with my cell phone.

Onto another piece, also in the Statue Garden was one called Wave Crest.

One more glass exhibit and then I am going to put the machine up for the night. In the center you can just about see it.

I didn't get close enough to take a photo of the ID info but found it on a leaflet picked up at the kiosk as we entered. These last two photos are Gregg's. He asked very nicely for me to stay off the grass as it was still wet and very slippery, the undulations would have done me in, and he knows my reputation. He took the photos for me.

This is called 'Making A Wish'. It is a dandelion puff, and one of my favorites even at a distance.

I am slowly making my way through the exhibits we saw that day. It is hard to transfer these amazing pieces into a photo, but I was very happy to be able to see most of them relatively closely. 

There will be more posts next week.

Thanks for looking and I hope your day is a great one.

GLEN BURNIE GARDENS IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA CONTINUED - 9-17-24 - PART 2

It had rained before we got there, and the grass was wet. There were parts we had to tread carefully.  The benches were damp but weren't too bad. I was eager to see more of the glass exhibits we missed the last time we were here because of the heat. You can see that post at this link. I don't know whether we will be able to get back before the exhibit goes in October. We were also hoping that it wouldn't start raining again. Thankfully it didn't.

As we headed towards the garden after we parked the car, I noticed something fluttering in a bush next to the parking lot. It was a mockingbird. 

Gregg took all of the photos in today's post. I was very grateful to him for getting them. It has been several months since we have taken any shots of birds, and even longer of a Mockingbird. An interesting fact I found here, is that there are 16 species around the world that go by the name mockingbird. The Northern Mockingbird here is the only native of the United States. 

The bush we found our mockingbird is called the Honey Locust. It has a lot of names and one of them is Three-Thorned Acacia. Its botanical name is Gleditsia triacanthos.

We left him to his preening and crossed the road to the garden. I am once again starting too late to do a long post, but here's a preview of three glass exhibits. I will go into more detail next time.

There were lots of berries to keep the birds happy.

And on that note I will finish for now. More photos to follow.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your day.

GLEN BURNIE GARDENS IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA - 9-17-24 - PART 1

 We made a trip back to Glen Burnie as we felt like a ride today (9/17/24). There was thick cloud cover, and we knew it was going to rain later, with more over the next several days. But we thought we might be lucky if we started out early enough. This is a planter that I am always drawn to. It has two dragon handles on each side as you can see.  More photos next time as I am tuckered out and am off to bed early.

Thanks for looking and as always, I hope your day is a great one.

LARGER THAN LIFE GLASS FLOWERS EXHIBIT AT THE MUSEUM OF THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY IN WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA

 

We were here on July 16th, 2024, but because of the high heat and humidity, we didn't get to see but a very few of the pieces from the Garden of Glass Flowers Exhibit. You can read about that at this link.

Next is information on the artist who made them all. You can enlarge each photo for an easier read. In fact, all the photos can be enlarged if you would like to see more detail.

I saw more sculptures than I had thought. Firstly, there was something over the entrance of the gate, a pretty blue glass display, but I missed the info...

and my photos don't give any of these the justice they deserve. As mentioned in this post, we were in the middle of a heatwave. I found myself rushing through, not giving much thought to how I was taking my pictures, and finally we gave up. But, I think it will give you an inkling. 

 For the next one I read online that this was made in 2021 by Mr. Smith. 

It was inspired by the original celluloid hollyhocks used in the production of the "Wizard of Oz" which he saw during a backstage tour at Disney World.

Glass Wisteria overhanging one of our favorite sitting areas.

We are near the pink house shown in my previous post.

Daffodils

Lily of the Valley

Placed in the middle a produce garden where they were growing cucumber, kohlrabi, squash and leeks, there are glass anthuriums.

That's all the glass pieces for now. I am hoping we will be back but will pick a day when we can walk around the whole garden. With August being the hottest month of the year normally, our next visit may not be until September. We will have to keep an eye on the weather forecast.

I have other photos from the garden, and also inside another gift shop in the museum. Another browsing session which was enjoyable. I will share them soon.

Thanks for stopping by and 

I hope you are all having a great week.