Sunken Gardens Flowers

Stopped by Sunken Gardens this afternoon.

This pale yellow Magnolia is stunning in person.

The tulips are really starting to wow us.

Isn't spring grand?

Today's Flowers & Mellow Yellow

Last Wednesday and Thursday were beautiful spring days. In the 70’s, and nary a cloud to be seen. Friday was in the 80’s and a bit too warm for my liking for April. I had a couple of appointments in the morning, met a friend for lunch and did a bunch of errands. I thought about going to my favorite flower picture spots, but I wasn’t dressed for crawling around to get flower pictures, so I decided to pass. The weather forecast for Saturday was for 60’s and I figured that would be just fine. Well, so much for weather forecasts. It never got out of the 40’s, wind chill was in the upper 30’s, it was misting off and on, and this wuss decided not to sally forth. After all, the weather was supposed to be better today. Ha Today has been showers and occasional thunder and lightning.

All of that is a long story to say that these flower pictures were taken last week. These daffodils were at Sunken Gardens. Since they are yellow, I’m cross posting in the Mellow Yellow meme also.





See other flowers from around the world

Mellow Yellow

Today's Flowers are in the next post down

These photos were taken at Sunken Gardens yesterday afternoon.

Tulip Tree


Tulip


Same kind of Tulip opened

Today's Flowers

Aaah, it appears spring has sprung….

Today’s photos were all taken yesterday afternoon.

The daffodil was taken at Sunken Gardens.


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The remaining photos were taken at Maxwell Arboretum. Maxwell Arboretum is on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

I don’t know what kind of flowers these are, but they were pretty and very dainty. Any help identifying them would be greatly appreciated!


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Last, but certainly not least is a Magnolia bud

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Check out other flowers from around the world at Today's Flowers


UPDATE: It was bugging me not to have id's on the three flowers so I did some research today (which I should have done before I posted the photos). Anyway, the purple flower is a Glory of the Snow, the white one is a Common Snowdrop which Babooshka id'd, and the blue and white one is a Striped Squill (what a strange name!)

Today's Flowers

Still no flowers to photograph here, so into the vaults we go!

This water lily was photgraphed at the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln.

The Sunken Gardens was built in 1930 on an old 1.5 acre neighborhood landfill site in the heart of Lincoln. The sunken gardens were made in a depression (hence their name) and were originally known as Lincoln's 'Rock Garden', which described their design. The project was developped as an opportunity for unemployed men to earn money to support their families through the difficult economic circumstances.
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After nearly 73 years without a major renovation, the Sunken Gardens was overhauled in 2004.

Major streets are on two sides of the gardens, but because it is a sunken garden it is still a lovely oasis.


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As the year progresses, you will most likely see many more photos from the Sunken Gardens.

Check out other flowers from around the world at Today's Flowers

Today's Flowers

As we enter the period of the year that for many include gray skies, weak sunlight at best, barren trees, and flower beds that are mulched over, it puts a smile on one's face seeing flower pictures.

This photo of two lotus and a lotus bud is among my all time favorites. It was taken at Lincoln's Sunken Gardens.


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Want to see more flower pictures? Check out Today's Flowers

Lotus

On Wednesday I put up a picture of a lotus partially opened. I stopped by the Sunken Gardens this morning. Here is what it looks like 3 days later.


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Water Lilies

Was out doing errands today and stopped by the Sunken Gardens. Among other features the gardens have two pools. The pools have fish, water lilies and one lonely lotus. Tried taking some pictures of the fish, but the water is just murky enough that they didn't turn out very well. I was rather pleased with the lotus and water lily photos.


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More water lily photos here.

A need for restoration

Today was one of those days when one had to pretend, at least for awhile, to be a responsible adult. First off was a weekly breakfast with friends, none of whom are into birding, and most of whom just look at me like I'm from another planet when I talk about it. Then it was off to run errands, most of which were for my elderly mother. Then it was a stop at her place. Anyone who has ever dealt with an elderly parent whose mental and physical skills have diminished will understand that one never knows what you will encounter when you go to visit. Today was not one of the good days. Sigh.

After leaving mother's I felt the need of a little restoration. Lincoln has a garden that is called Sunken Gardens. It is an oasis, in spite of being located at a very busy intersection. Because is it "sunken" the noise from the busy streets is muffled and barely noticable. It had a humble beginning:

The Sunken Gardens of Lincoln, at the southwest corner of 27th and D Streets, has been the pride and joy of citizens since its completion in 1931. This 1.5 acre lot was constructed over the winter of 1930-31, during the worst financial depression the United States ever experienced. This project was part of a program used by the City of Lincoln as an opportunity for unemployed men to earn money to support their families. The program helped families survive hard times, as very little money was available for employment in any line of work.

A couple of years ago it was totally renovated. The renovation was funded by local and corporate contributions. It is

The only Nebraska garden listed in the "300 Best Gardens to Visit in the United States and Canada" in the National Geographic Guide to Public Gardens!

I knew when I stopped there that the Parks people would probably be planting the annuals that make up a good part of the garden. The place was a hive of activity. They were rototilling, planting, and mulching. In spite of the activity, there was a calming influence on my soul. There are two fish ponds and I was drawn to them because there was very little activity in that area. I sat and watched the fish swim. I suppose someday I will have to figure out what kind of fish they are, but that was not my focus today. There are water lilies in the fish ponds and they were just beginning to bloom and I wished for my camera which was at home.


This photograph of the garden shows it in it's full glory. The photgraph was taken during the latter part of June last year.


My favorite water lily from last year.


The fish ponds are also home to numerous varieties of dragonflies. This is a Widow Skimmer.


As I walked back to my car, I was thankful for all those who were laboring there today, so that I may enjoy sights like those above yet again in the coming weeks.