Back to Holland again – and some lovely plants from botanical gardens in Amsterdam and Leiden.
But this photo is from the flower market along one of the canals. The red flower in the lower right corner is a Gloriosa – a climber I have tried several times… but cannot make thrive at home.
A different way to use a palm house – every plant in a separate barrel.
I love these – and I know that Cee Neuner has posted ”the real thing” many times!
More from the pond and the wetlands of the gardens.
The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.
– Charles R. Swindoll
Patti makes us look for the details this week – and we’re looking forward to seeing what you have found! Please visit Patti’s site for wonderful inspiration.
This bronze sculpture by the American Paul Kubic, stands in Keukenhof Castle Garden and is named The Temptation of Saint Anthony. Saint Anthony was a hermit in the desert of Egypt in the 300´s. The bronze below was made 1978 -1984 and it measures 175 x 400 x 150.
We were there for the Dahlia festival, but were totally absorbed by the details in this work. We went back to it several times for even closer looks. I also talked to a man, who used to go see this statue every year, photographing the changes. Mostly how parts of it were disappearing I think…
The theme used to be popular with artists in the old days because it represented the temptations of everyday life and reminded audiences to mimic Saint Anthony’s devotion and re-enforce the trust in God to ignore temptation.
Many details included hands, and if you want to see a little bit more of all the fantastic details, you can click this link for a 2.32- minute video that really conveys the mystery of Kubic’s work.
Patti allowed us to post one more story though. My second detailed sequence is from the Dahlia Floats in Holland. A different kind of art work, but also a demanding one.
I was very impressed by the work to fit in every single flower in its prepainted place matching its correct painted colour…
– and fast too! Flowers don’t last very long without water. For cut flowers even shorter time. They must last the whole parade and a second day.
An even closer look when the float was passing, and you could see the flowers and construction in detail.
So, have fun and show us what you’ve discovered! Be sure to link to Patti’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.
Last week, Egidio hosted his “Silence” challenge, which was a beautiful exploration of places filled with quiet. Something we all need in this turbulent world and I enjoyed every minute! Next week, it’s Tina’s turn to lead us, so be sure to stop by her gorgeous site, Travels and Trifles, next Saturday at noon EST. See you then!
I guess Holland doesn’t need more presentation than this: canals, boats, bicycles – and flowers! Not only tulips, but this year we decided to visit the Dahlia Festival instead. And we were not disappointed!
The gallery features some glorious dahlias from Keukenhof Castle. We arrived just after a shower and could savour all the colours and shapes – and some raindrops too.
We also visited a couple of Dahlia farms with a multitude of different sorts. Pompon Dahlias are still popular and I understand why. They don’t look real! I thought I would buy some bulbs and give away to Dahlia lovers back home – unfortunately they are not for sale in September – but in early Spring…
Well, I loved photographing them, and a couple of days later we saw the Dahlia Parade too, with flower floats you could only dream of…
Welcome to Marken, a village in North Holland, the Netherlands. This 2000 – inhabitant – village makes up a peninsula that attracts thousands of tourists every year. Because of its originality as a former small fishing town, it was considered a relic of the traditional native culture that would disappear as the modernization of the Netherlands gained pace.
In fact, the town’s history has allowed it to form an identity that’s unique in all the Netherlands.
Until 1957, Marken was an island in the Zuiderzee. In isolation from the rest of the Netherlands, it developed an independent culture – its own architecture, dialect, dress and more – that it still maintains, despite the closure of the dike that once separated it from the mainland Netherlands. When passing these characteristic wooden houses, you will reach the harbour, but similar houses can be found everywhere in the village.
Walking out on the pier, I feel summers might get hectic with all the tourists… but, let us not think about that now…
Let’s keep strolling along in the sleepy, rural tranquility. Life seems to have a pace of its own here – and somehow, I know why there were so many Dutch master painters centuries back… Had I been a painter, I would have spent weeks out here – immersed in all the colours and the rural beauty with canals, birds and farm animals.
Flower power was a slogan during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence. It started as an opposition movement to the Vietnam War. Originally, the expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles. Hippies dressed in clothes with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair.
Who, my age, didn’t love the musical Hair?
As you can see, the theme of this year’s Keukenhof flower festival was Flower Power.
And Flower Power there was – in abundance. The pictures in this post all come from only one of all the exhibition halls…
Tulips, orchids, roses, hyacinths, anthuriums – cars and clothes!
As you can guess…I could have stayed here forever. After an hour or two, my poor husband found a chair somewhere…But, admitted that this was a glorious feast to the eye. To see the whole exhibition area, or most of it, we spent the whole day. Unforgettable.
Leya 
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