Last Post

Virginia Historical Highway Marker, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

For the last post on this photo blog, created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Norfolk Botanical Garden, I have posted a photo of the Virginia Historical Highway Marker located behind the old administration building. The photo was take on October 27, 2013.

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

According to the old tour script this sculpture of the Madonna and Child is the work of an Italian sculptor named Amleto Cataldi. It is located in what we used to call the Purity Garden, surrounded by white flowering camellias. This photo has been somewhat altered in Photoshop, with the background blurred to give it the impression of a narrow depth of field and a subtle introduction of a lighting effect. The original photo was taken on October 27, 2013.

Peter Paul Rubens

Peter Paul Rubens, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Last, but not least, among the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that line the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on October 27, 2013.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on October 27, 2013.

Tropical Pavilion

Tropical Pavilion, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken on September 14, 2013.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on October 27, 2013.

Phidias

Phidias, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on August 29, 2013.

City of Norfolk

City of Norfolk, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One morning we came down to the boat basin and discovered that someone had untied a couple of the tour boats. Photo taken in mid to late 1990s.

Spring Day

Spring Day, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Azaleas bloom around the boat basin under an azure sky. This photo was taken on a spring day in the late 1990s, between the completion of Baker Hall and the beginning of construction on the Education Building.

Lone Pine Garden

Lone Pine Garden, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

The Lone Pine Garden from NATO Hill. This canal side garden featured tulips in the spring and annuals during the summer. It was named for the single pine growing in one of the beds. Most of this area is now covered with the Matson Perennial Garden. Photo taken in 1990s.

Friendship Pond

Friendship Pond, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

This pond adjacent to the Renaissance Garden/Coronation Court area of the garden was named in honor of the friendship between the nations of the NATO Alliance. One of the old tour trains can be seen in the background. Photo taken in the 1990s.

Formosa Azaleas in Bloom

Formosa Azaleas in Bloom, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken in the 1990's.

Japanese Garden Lantern

Japanese Garden Lantern, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken in the late 1990's.

Tiziano Vecellio "Titian"

Tiziano Vecellio "Titian", a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on October 27, 2013.

American Lady II

American Lady II, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Vanessa virginiensis. Photo taken on October 27, 2013.

Hibiscus

Hibiscus, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken on August 29, 2013.

Thomas Crawford

Thomas Crawford, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Thomas Crawford is the only American featured in the collection, and is best known for the Statue of Freedom on top of the Capitol Dome in Washington, DC. Photo taken on October 27, 2013.

Baker Overlook Gazebo

Baker Overlook Gazebo, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken on February 15, 2013.

Weeping Cherry Tree

Weeping Cherry Tree, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

A Weeping Cherry Tree blooms next to the Boat Basin. The Baker Hall Visitor Center is under construction in the background. Photo taken in Spring of 1995.

Canal

Canal, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Shot of the East Canal from the tour boat, looking under the new Rose Garden Bridge. Photo taken on September 14, 2013.

Tour Boat

Tour Boat, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Pontoon style tour boats have replaced the old steel barges of the past. Because they cannot fit through the Cobblestone Bridge the tours leave and enter through the East Canal. Photo taken on April 27, 2013.

NATO Vista II

NATO Vista II, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Blooming Bradford Pear Trees line the NATO Vista. Photo taken in early 1990s.

Rabbit

Rabbit, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Seen in the Holly Garden. Photo taken in late 1990s.

Bicentennial Rose Garden II

Bicentennial Rose Garden II, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Roses bloom at the Bicentennial Rose Garden, which was dedicated in 1976 to honor the 200th anniversary of the founding of the nation. Photo taken on May 26, 2013.

Pelican on Lake Whitehurst

Pelican on Lake Whitehurst, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken on February 15, 2013.

Yellow-Bellied Slider

Yellow-Bellied Slider, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken on September 14, 2013.

Crape Myrtle Flowers

Crepe Myrtle Flowers, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Lagerstroemia in bloom. Photo taken on August 3, 2013.

Spirit Bridge

Spirit Bridge, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

This stone bridge was installed as part of the renovation of the Japanese Garden in 1995, replacing this wooden bridge. One interpretation of the Spirit Bridge suggests that ghosts can't follow one across it because they cannot pass over moving water and cannot move sideways and thus are blocked by the split bridge. Photo taken on September 14, 2013.

Rose

Rose, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken on May 26, 2013.

Twin Dawn Redwoods II

Twin Dawn Redwoods II, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

These Twin Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) grow next to each other in an area between the Flowering Arboretum and the Baker Overlook. According to garden lore, the trees were not supposed to be planted so close to one another, but the saplings had taken root where they were being stored while awaiting final placement. Native to China, the Dawn Redwood is an ancient tree species, dating back to the Mesozoic Era. Photo taken on August 29, 2013.

Antonio Canova

Antonio Canova, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on August 29, 2013.

Red Tailed Hawk

One of several Red-tailed Hawks to make a home at the garden over the years. Photo taken in early 2000s.

Canada Geese

Canada Geese, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Canada Geese taking flight from Lake Whitehurst. Photo taken on September 14, 2013.

Pirate Cove

Pirate Cove, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Flag above the Pirate Cove, a pirate themed play area in the garden that features a large pile of sand for children to dig in. Posted today in honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Photo taken on March 22, 2013.

Foxglove

Foxglove, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Digitalis purpurea. Leaves of this plant are the source of the heart medicine digoxin, (also called digitalis or digitalin). Photo taken on May 26, 2013.

Mermaid

Mermaid, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of several Mermaids on display throughout Norfolk, Virginia, part of an art/community project launched in 1999. Photo taken in early 2000s.

NATO Vista

NATO Vista, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Blooming Crape Myrtles line the NATO Vista. NATO Vista, Tower and Bridge are named for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a Cold War military alliance between the US, Canada and several European nations that was celebrated annually for over four decades with the International Azalea Festival. Each year the festival culminated in the coronation of an Azalea Queen at the garden's Coronation Court. Photo taken on August 3, 2013.

Eagle Sculpture

Eagle Sculpture, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

This 200-year-old sculpture of an eagle sits in front of Lake Whitehurst at the end of the Statuary Vista. Photo taken on August 29, 2013.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the statues created by Sir Moses Ezekiel that lines the garden's Statuary Vista. Photo taken on February 15, 2013.

Twin Dawn Redwoods

Twin Dawn Redwoods, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

These Twin Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) grow next to each other in an area between the Flowering Arboretum and the Baker Overlook. According to garden lore, the trees were not supposed to be planted so close to one another, but the saplings had taken root where they were being stored while awaiting final placement. Native to China, the Dawn Redwood is an ancient tree species, dating back to the Mesozoic Era. Photo was taken on August 29, 2013.

Great Egret

Great Egret, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

A Great Egret (Ardea alba) fishing from the canal bank. Photo taken in 1990's.

Tulip

Tulip, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken April 27, 2013.

Giant Swallowtail II

Giant Swallowtail II, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.
Papilio [Heraclides] cresphontes. Photo taken in Butterfly House on August 3, 2013.

By Any Other Name

By Any Other Name, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Photo taken in Bicentennial Rose Garden on May 26, 2013.

Gulf Fritillary

Gulf Fritillary, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Agraulis vanillae. Photo taken in Butterfly House on August 3, 2013.

Broken Oak

Broken Oak, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

A Southern Red Oak severely damaged by Hurricane Isabel. Photo take in September of 2003.

Glass Dandelion

Glass Dandelion, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

One of the glass sculptures on display as part of the Reflections of Nature collection that artist Craig Mitchell Smith created for the Garden's 75th anniversary. Photo taken on June 29, 2013.

Breaking Ground

Breaking Ground, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

This bronze statue, Breaking Ground, stands in the WPA Memorial Garden as a tribute to the 220 African American women and men who cleared ground and planted azaleas as part of the Works Progress Administration Program that created the Norfolk Azalea Garden (later the Norfolk Municipal Garden and Norfolk Botanical Garden). Photo taken on April 27, 2013.

Monarch Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Danaus plexippus. Photo taken in Butterfly House on August 3, 2013.

Crape Myrtles in Bloom

Crape Myrtles in Bloom, a photo by bahayla on Flickr.

Pink flowering crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) trees bloom along this garden path across the canal from the Rose Garden. Photo taken on August 3, 2013.