The Gardens at Winterthur

Winterthur Gardens and Museum has several varieties of this scented beauty. It was a joy to be around them; wish I could photograph smells, too!

I am not sure what these flowers are, but they are divine!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Frame Within a Frame Photographed during "the Golden Hour" at Winterthur Gardens near Wilmington, Delaware. It was unusually mild for a November day.

The woodlands of Winterthur Gardens and Museum near Wilmington Delaware. Thank you so very much for all your kind comments and stars; they are most appreciated! :-))

Yesterday I received bad news; my dear friend, Jean, died suddenly on March 3, 2017. I have known Jean for most of my life and always regarded her as my second mother. After I moved from my hometown in New Jersey, we kept in touch through letter writing and visiting each other when we had the chance. Jean was a vibrant and healthy 88 year old who could run circles around people half her age.She was an anachronism, preferring "snail" mail instead of email and "land line" instead of cell phone. She rode her bicycle to get from one place to another, and was fiercely independent until the day she died. Among the many things that interested her in life, gardening was her favorite pastime. Her green thumb was second to none, and each year she treated her neighbors to a riot of colorful flowers throughout gardens she planted in every space she could find in her yard. It was her joy to teach other people the secrets she learned that made her garden special. I wanted to give back to her, so two years ago I had the privilege of taking her to Winterthur Gardens to see the peonies in full bloom. It was a most special day for both of us. I am so happy that I snapped this photo of her enjoying these marvelous flowers, some varieties of which she had never seen before. There is so much more that I could tell you about this amazing woman, but suffice it to say that the world has lost a very special soul who lived to make the world a better place; I will miss her very much.

What a beautiful day it was to tour the gardens at Winterthur near Wilmington, Delaware; warm and sunny!

"The Reader", circa 1897 By the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company Based on "La Liseuse", painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911) Exhibited at the 1889 Salon in Paris This beautiful work of stained glass art is one of the many visually stunning pieces that was on display in the Tiffany exhibit at Winterthur near Wilmington, Delaware this past summer.The lamps were beautiful, but I was completely enthralled by this gorgeous rendering of the Lefebvre painting in stained glass. Tiffany Glass deserved its reputation the world over as the premier maker of stained glass lamps and other works of art. As the cliche goes, the photo doesn't quite do it justice, but I hope I captured it well enough for you to see why I love this work of art so much. Thank you all so much for your kind words, dear friends! I am glad you enjoy this stained glass masterpiece as much as I do! :-))

Developing seed pods of a peony after bloom. Thank you so much, dear friends, for your kind words and faves; I deeply appreciate it! Have a great week, all! :-))