It's Monday. Again

Last week we had an extra day in Atlanta.   We left PA on Friday heading  for the biennial meeting of the Pomegranate Guild of Jewish Needlework.  So like the Beverly Hillbillies, we loaded up the car with class kits and Bailey and clothes and drove to Atlanta.  We planned on taking 1 1/2 days to drive there, but when we hit Charlotte at 4:30, my amazing driver pushed on and we made it in one loooooong day.  I think I'll keep that man of mine!

 This meant that we had a free day to explore Atlanta. We headed to one of the must see sights in Atlanta - The Atlanta Botanical Garden.  I love the inspiration I find in gardens.   It's not so much the botanical part, it's the art that they pair with nature.  There were several standout installations along with many other pieces of artwork.

Earth Goddess took my breath away.  She's 20 feet high and covered in plant material.

The Chihuly sculpture was another.  It was surrounded with white flowering plants. 

 I just love the combo of blues and white.

There were some other pieces of garden art, maybe not so magnificent as those two.

 I was a bit surprised that there were not a lot of flowering plants as I walked around. I thought there would be more than in PA since Atlanta is so much further south.  My big surprise was hen I entered the orchid greenhouse.  The lushness and abundance of orchids blew me away.

 There was a great docent inside who made me smell various orchids 

and took my photo, many photos!

This chandelier was also in the orchid house. It was quite a surprise.  

As I headed to the exit, I came across this lawn area with chairs

 that looked ready for a wedding ceremony.  It brought back fond memories of my wedding day, almost 42 years ago in the gardens  at Westbury Manor on Long Island. 

 Happy Anniversary to the best chauffeur ever!