Medicine, Please!

Please forgive the obvious formatting issues with this little photo-confetti post of mine. I tried to get it to work. Really I did. I'm not going to go so far as to say that blogger can suck it, because I'm far too pleased with the chance to share my pictures. However, bear in mind that I'm thinking it REALLY loudly.

Please to be enjoying the tour of the Denver Botanic Gardens that I took myself on yesterday. Let's call it the "textures tour" because that's really what it ended up turning into. It was a great time, spent hours there all by myself.

The March, Denver weather was warm (mid 50's?), wind was gentle, and the whole world was just soft and sweet. It was simply a delightful way to spend the afternoon. Never mind that it was the afternoon after the huge party celebrating my beloved husband's greatest achievement yet: defending his thesis and getting his PhD!

Lord, there were SO many people in the house (all of them completely awesome and welcome back any time!) (even the midget-madness-micro-platoon of children that we hosted... all of you were awesome!)

The beloved husband was mightily hung over and I wasn't really into hibernating (for once) so, when I heard that the botanic gardens were hosting a succulents show and sale, I couldn't resist the chance for a little "me" time. It's not like I don't get "me" time all the time, to be honest, but this was different.

This got me out of the house, for one, and that one tiny detail seems to have made all the difference. The succulents/cactus sale was great and yes, I did walk away with three new heart-stealers. GAWD I love succulents.

One of the things I love about the gardens there is how hard they work to get contrasting colors and textures going throughout the property and incorporated from the ground up to the tops of every structure or statue that's in there.

They do this year-round (as they are open year-round) and their efforts really pay off. It's something I've tried for in my own back yard, but clearly I'm well behind in the funding department. How CAN I compete with this, after all?

My own garden has had varying degrees of wins and fails. The prettiest spring flowers always remind me of the ones at home I've killed, or the ones that have been eaten by *-ing pocket gophers.

But I suppose that's the best part of these botanic gardens. I get to go there regularly now (as a member) and enjoy all the blooms without the boring trap/poison/regret cycle that we get at home. Ahh, the wheel of life and logic. "Let the pros do it" it says, "but I want the prettes!" I say, "then watch 'em die" it says, "but that one lived" I say, "then go see how the pros do it and come back and tell me how well you did" it replies, smugly.

Jerk wheel.

(Sorry this red-grass image posted sideways-ee and all rotated like this. No idea why. Probably becuase they're actually Hayao Mizayaki's grass-head monsters instead of actual, harmless clumps of grass.)

Anyway,

Where was I?

Oh yeah.

Strolling around the gardens by myself (highly recomended, by the way) and taking pictures of anything that caught my eye... talk about great medicine!

Every glazed pot, every stone in the retaining walls, they all were so enchanting in their just-before-springtime readiness. Sure, most of the property was dried out and straw-like, but that's kindof cool too. You know? We have seasons out here, by gods, and each season needs to be embraced for its part in the year.

There is, after all, a time for rest, a time for waking up, a time for sweltering heat, and a time for putting things back to bed again. From the tropical exhibit to the deserts, everything was just oozing with life and happiness.

Even in the quiet and dank areas of the gardens...

Things were "right".

And in the tropical rooms?

Holy crap!

Those flowers were just hit-you-between-the-eyes gorgeous!

YAHOO SPRINGTIME!