Cologne Botanical Gardens.

God’s loving care when He corrects us is spoken about by Hosea who started his ministry well before 753BC. These are the words:

Come, let us return to the LORD for

He has torn /corrected us and He will heal us.

He has smitten / told us off / reduced us and He will bind us up/ help us up.

After two days he will revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.

God will do this for us quickly. There is also a faint prophecy of Jesus going to die for us and how that when we sin we can find healing in forgiveness. This passags is rich. And then it goes on…

Then we will know, when we follow on to know the LORD. He prepares us like soil by coming to us as the rain before the planting and after the planting. God nurtures our knowledge of Him.

Hosea 6:1-3

Paul then says this about how we should be in wanting to know God:

Those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

It is easy to appreciate beautiful spaces and sometimes we walk into one not knowing what we want to see nor much about it. Other times we read about the place carefully and know what we want to see.

In this instance I read about the Cologne Botanical gardens after I chose to enjoy them and, photograph parts of them. My post reflects what I did notice, and some plants I enjoyed photographing with an answer of why I did.

To add to our enjoyment a group of young people were sketching in the garden in pairs. It took a lot for me not to ask the question:

‘ Why did you choose to sit before this plant/ or give it your time?’ One young person started off sketching a symmetrical cactus her partner was already adding colour when I walked past the second time, and she was doing a rather good sketch of her partner. I just had to say: ‘ You like people more!’ We both grinned.

Back to the gardens. They were masterminded by the landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné. His work reflects a mix of German, French Baroque, Italian Renaisance and English styles. Did I capture these four styles in four photographs? No, eight.

The German.

Lenné laid out the grounds using a distinctly German technique of clever, unexpected sightlines. The pathways are mathematically aligned to give you sweeping views of the central glass palace. I didn’t focus on the glass palace.

The French Baroque

Here the French Parterre represents mastery of mathematical order over nature. The plants are newly and accurately placed. A bed of plants further into the garden shows this style of planting more clearly, or was I more interested in the Egyptian goose.

The bed has height introduced by growing sunflowers at a measured distance from each other and cannas, the red leafed variety. It will be spectacular in a few weeks.

Now for the Italian Renaissance part of the gardens.

Here there is water flowing down an incline in contrast to the flat, carpet of symmetrical planting. The sound and line is all held in by two arbor walkways, hornbeam trees grown to perfection.

Order of a different kind!

What about the English Landscape how is that seen in my photographs?

Well the pond has a natural edging with weeping willow hanging over its waters. There is a wilder look/ style in this landscape.

A rainy day with water lilies still coming into their own.

I guess this border of recognisable, loose planting could be considered part of the English garden.

This 11.5 hectare garden has 12,000 species of plants from around the globe, many of which are in specialised green houses. The garden was opened in 1864.

Then here are some photographs because…

Barbata – Elatior

Poem of Ecstasy

Barbata Elatior

Aurelie.

…I liked the colour combination, form and texture in both Irises.

The irises had almost had their time.

One alone, the others gone to seed.

Red hot pokers…

And thank you Eric for sending a picture of ours at home. Look at all those stalks with buds. There should be a few when we get back home.

And here is a plant that wants out. I photographed it for its twists and turns of stem and look at how circular brickwork and gravel with large stones makes for plants held in well.