Side note: I now have a store where products can be ordered. The products are from Printify, so may take a while to be made and shipped. I also will be posting only one or two products of each photo, but if you see a photo you really like and would like a product with it on it, please send me a message and I will see if it can be made.
A few days after the hike in the Jemez Mountains, we visited the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens in Albuquerque. It was fascinating to see the differences between the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens and the Botanical Gardens in Athens. One of the biggest differences is that the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens are within the city, whereas the Athens Botanical Gardens are away from the city. Athens Botanical Gardens are also more of a circular area, with woods and paths surrounding the gardens and part of the grounds. The Albuquerque Gardens are long and thin with no woods around them. They make up for this by making the gardens almost a maze, with each turn of a corner giving a new, fantastical view. They also set their gardens around two ponds, one large and one smaller. Athens gardens have only one smaller pond, with some streams and, of course, the river which is not by the gardens, but along one of the paths.
While in the Albuquerque gardens, I found myself lost most of the time, though when looking at a map, that does not seem possible. The Albuquerque gardens also had some amazing artwork, which I got some pictures of some of the statues and decorations. The entrance, which was shared with the Aquarium, had several pretty, large flower pots. All photos were taken with my camera.
They also had some really neat benches throughout the Albuquerque Gardens. Here are just a few examples.
Here is also my favorite transition from one garden to another. I almost felt like I was entering a secret garden.
I show it at an angle where you can see the opening, but looking at it straight on, it was not so obvious.
Of course, I took plenty of pictures of the many statues and other art work in the garden.
The dragon is, of course, my favorite. If you know me in person, you might know that I am obsessed with dragons. I am hoping to share some of my stories on here, and all of the fantasy stories/books include dragons in one form or another.
At one point while walking the gardens, we came into this long promenade covered with vines and the trunks of the vines wrapped up and around the side posts. Here is a photo of the area in large and then a close up of the side posts.
The waterfalls and fountains throughout were captivating.
The large pond was made in such a way that it could be seen from several areas around it, giving a different perspective of it and the ducks.
In the Japanese Garden, there was a large bell structure that I loved.
The design on the bell is fascinating to me.
I suppose you are ready to now see all the flowers. They have some similar to Georgia, but also some unique. I will simply post them below and list what they are beneath each picture. If any of them are wrong, please let me know.
Yellow Tea Roses
Yellow Lily
Wild Bergamot
Yellow Day Lily's
Yellow Tea Rose
Pink Rose
Tea Rose
Sunflower
Wax Begonia
Roses
Roses
Water Lily
Sempervivum rosette
Chinese Hibiscus
Sacred Lotus
Red China Roses
China Rose with Bee
Purple Clematis
Pink Water Lily
Pink China Rose
Orange Lantanas
Orange Daylilies
Orange Chinese Hibiscus
Natal Lily
New England Astor
Mountain Ash Berries
Milkweed
Milkweed - with softer filter
Martagon Lily
Himalayan crane's-bill
Hardy Fuchshia
French Roses
Evening Primrose
Dog Rose
Crown of Thorns
Crape Myrtle
China Rose with Fly
China Roses
Pink China Rose
Butterfly Peas
Cactus Pear
Butterfly Peas with unknown orange flower
Black-eyed Susans
Black-eyed Susan Vine
Black-eyed Susan Vine
Black-eyed Susan with Bee
Begonia
Agave
Black-eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susan with bee
False Shamrock (Wood Sorrel)
Mountain Ash Berries
Grapes?
One of the coolest things in the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens is the miniature railroad. Enjoy these photos.
The final section is for the animals. The last picture is absolutely one of my favorites, so keep going to see my little joy. First, though, are the ducks, of course:
And the fish:
A little lizard we say scurrying along:
At one point, we passed an adorable child who was holding a large beetle. Of course, I had to get a picture of the beetle.
And for the grand finale! We were walking along and my sister pointed out a blue damselfly near us. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a shot, just one shot, and little did I know that I got right as the little thing looked right back at me.
