After an eventful bus ride starting with a sub bus driver arriving an hour and a half late, the journey to St. Louis began. We had a stop in Wheatley to pick up some more folks with the next destination being lunch.
I had no idea where we would be dining as I left the planning to my buddy Janet, my Master Garden mentor (class '90?) who in retirement has taken on planning some wonderful excursions and took care of the gardeners's last adventure to Canada.
Who knew warm rolls would be flying in the air throughout the dining area as the customers caught them at their tables?
Yes, it was Lambert's. known for family-style eating for the past 40 years and home of the ' throwed rolls'. The portions were humongous and besides one's choice of sides, all tables were served fried potatoes and onion from huge pots and this diner didn't refuse the fried okra either.
My chicken fried steak topped with mashed potatoes and gravy and did not disappoint. It was so huge I cut it in half and demolished one half and the other half went towards lunch the next day.
Then it was on to St. Louis where we would spend 2 nights. My roomie was a friend I had met in '09 when we both went with our hubbies on the first Master Gardener's trip to New Zealand. We had a lot of catch-up to do and of course, I fell asleep while we were talking in the dark.
The next day would be a full Fall day and we would be the first group with early access to Missouri Botanical Garden with the Chihuly exhibition which consisted of 20 installations set amongst the plantings and other sculptures. I won't post all of them here but they were all stunning...
And no matter where I see Dale Chihuly's work it always takes on a new look in the different landscapes.
Our first piece to welcome us even changed coloring during our time at the gardens due to the sunlight. Thank goodness the nearby hail storm the previous night missed the garden.
Yep, each leaf is a separate piece of glass and is assembled on-site. I certainly wouldn't want that job!
The iconic Chihuly canoe and balls took on an ethereal feel in the Japanese algae-covered pond as if we were frozen in time.
I didn't count how many of the Chihuly's sculptures I captured but I loved every single one... |
| Rose Garden |
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| Lavender at its best, the color that is |
My color scheme for sure but I couldn't fit them into my pack back... Drats.
I certainly enjoyed eating my leftover lunch fried steak in the glorious surroundings.
BUT Nothing feeds my soul more than Mother Nature and manmade art...
Midweek... I will also post some of the garden's full-time residents...
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