A lovely afternoon at ... the Gardens!

Our friends, Tom and Judy, are members out at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. They invited us to join them yesterday afternoon, as their guests, to take a walk around the gardens and to see the featured exhibit ~ Chihuly: A New Eden.
I've never been a big fan of sculpture ... which seems contradictory to my usual appreciation of the arts. But I guess I have a narrow appreciation! I've always been more drawn to realism and impressionism than to abstracts or modern art. Plus, I have absolutely NO three dimensional skills ... I'm an absolute dunce even with a hunk with playdough! But the opportunity to see Chihuly ... I was NOT going to pass up. When I was a young girl, several different summers our family cruised to Cedar Point. If you docked your boat at the marina there, your park entry was included. So, do you think I rode the rides all day long? No! Roller coasters have never been my friends! I remember one summer we stayed there for almost two weeks. My favorite place to hang around was the glass blowing hut. I loved to just sit and watch the guy create beautiful pieces of art.
The weather yesterday did not cooperate with our plans. But you know what? The rain made everything so beautiful! The real deterrent, for me at least, was the COLD and the WIND! We tried to walk outside for a bit just to see, up close and personal, the Chihuly sculptures ~ but then we went back inside where it was warm.
We walked through the Victorian Garden, the Carnivorous Plant House, the English Perennial Garden, the Arid Garden ...

"... unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.
Rejoice in the LORD and be glad,
all you who obey Him!
Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!"
PSALM 32.10-11

I would like to label all of these flowered photos with their proper identification ~ and my friend, Judy, could do just that ~ but I can't remember a single one that she told me!
My favorite place at the Gardens is the Tropical Conservatory (above). I came here in late February to photograph the butterflies. As soon as you walk through the door, the warmth and humidity just soak right into your body! It's amazing. My very favorite climate, definitely!
These gorgeous flowers were outside. We decided that since the rain was NOT going to go away, we would ride the tram around the sculpture park and see what we could of the outside Chihuly display.
This is the very famous horse that has a twin in Milan, Italy. The tour guide told us a bunch of interesting information about it, but all of it slips my mind right now! I like this piece because it is so REAL ...
This Chihuly is pretty amazing though. The color is astounding. The guide said that on a sunny day, it doesn't look this beautiful. But it absolutely glowed through the misty rain and gray of yesterday.
We went inside to the theatre and saw some of the video about Chihuly and his works. He's a pretty amazing artist.

I've decided I'm going to have to return to the Gardens on day where it is not cold and raining. When we were "tramming" around the outside, we passed by Michigan's Farm Garden ~ I didn't even know there was such a place! I saw about a million pictures that needed taking, but I was unable to do so riding the tram. I'm certainly not going to let the summer go by without coming back!