My Piece of Heaven
It was my last week in St. Louis, Missouri after having lived in the Midwestern city for a full year, and it was my last visit to my favorite place in the city—the
Missouri Botanical Garden. The autumnal equinox had come and gone, but the weather stayed warm and the sky was cloudy with the usually unfulfilled promised of rain. (The weather in St. Louis is infamously unpredictable and it is rumored that weatherman in the city receive a lot of hate mail on a regular basis.) I had been told at the entrance that in a grove of holly trees just outside Tower Grove House in the Victorian Garden, hundreds of butterflies were clinging onto the leaves.
I found the holly grove, and at first I could not even see the monarch butterflies as they had folded up their wings and blended so completely into the browns and yellows of the autumn leaves. Taking just one step towards them sent hundreds of butterflies flying into the air for a few breathtaking seconds, and then they would settle back down onto the leaves. Over and over they performed this dance, flying up into the air in a fantastical display, and all one could do was stare. My camera lay useless in my hand; there was no way to capture the quick movements, and looking into the lens meant looking away from the butterflies. It was the perfect way to say good-bye to the place that had been my home for a year.
Henry Shaw, an English botanist and philanthropist, founded the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1859 and it is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the United States, and Tower Grove House was his country home. His resting place is also in the Garden, sheltered by majestic oak and sassafras trees. The Garden is not just a center for botanical research and science education, it is also a sanctuary within the city of St. Louis, covering 79 acres in horticulture wonder. The Garden is home to many of the city's cultural festivals and most notably known for the Japanese Festival that is held at the end of each summer that features sumo wrestling, taiko drumming, traditional tea ceremonies, and candlelit tours through Seiwa-en, the largest Japanese strolling garden in North America.
In the spring and summer, the Missouri Botanical Garden feels like a slice of my own personal heaven, splashes of brilliant colors in every direction you look. One of my favorite displays is the Gladney Rose Garden, shaped in a giant wheel and housing over one hundred varieties of roses with frighteningly scientific names. (Didn't Shakespeare say a rose is a rose is a rose?) Roses in all imaginable shades of pink, orange and red are scattered throughout this round garden, at full bloom in the summer, radiating that familiar rose scent far beyond the confines of the garden. In mid-spring, close to the Gladney Rose Garden, azaleas and magnolias come out to play. In the summer and fall you're surrounded by autumn crocus, lilies in many, many bright colors, dahlias, and much more.
St. Louis is home to people from various parts of the world and so it's only right that the Missouri Botanical Garden is home to five international gardens: the Japanese Garden, the Cherbonnier English Woodland Garden, the Strassenfest German Garden, the Grigg Nanjing Chinese Friendship Garden, and the Turkish Bakewell Ottoman Garden. My favorite is Seiwa-en, the Japanese garden with its four-acre lake filled with giant koi and many zen gardens. Beautiful hidden spots are tucked away all over the Japanese garden, perfect for reading a book, having a picnic, or watching the world go by. Seiwa-en was created to be appreciated in all seasons, and is reason enough to keep returning to the Garden every few months.
As a nanny to five children under the age of four, I fully appreciated the Children's Garden, equipped with a number of things to climb in and on, a sprinkler area perfect for hot summer days, and various exhibits to explore. For the more grown-up learner, the Garden offers a number of classes on a variety of subjects—yoga, bird-watching, cooking, meditating, wreath-making, digital photography, and of course, gardening.
I love that there's always something new to do and see at the Garden, but it's also the perfect place for doing absolutely nothing. Visitors to the Garden seem to truly love the place and it's obvious in how gently they approach each plant, how every picture is taken with great care, and how enthusiastic St. Louisians are when they talk about the Garden. I will never forget the Garden, where I had my first snowball fight, where a hundred butterflies fluttered around me, where I took my favorite photographs. The Garden tends to drag out the artist in a person, whatever forms that art may take, and inspiration like that is hard to find. In a world where everything is changing so quickly--the weather, the technology, the fashion, the dress-length--the Missouri Botanical Garden remains a beautiful, peaceful escape.