… when I visited Emily Frank Gardens in the Trenton Cultural Center on August 4th.
(Yep, I know you saw this blog post title and, but for the beautiful Hibiscus flower, you figured I’d be whining about the upcoming Siberian Polar Vortex which follows our fourth or fifth bout of brutally cold weather we have endured after a remarkably warm Fall.)
But no, I purposely tucked this post away for the heart of Winter in order to fully appreciate that extremely hot and humid day. Besides … this post also neatly fulfills Week #2 of Terri’s Monthly Color Two-Week Challenge: WHITE.
Normally, if prompted to write about “white” items in Winter, logically the topic would be snow. While our January 10th snowfall was pretty and pristine, I was reluctant to take the camera, as well as myself, out in the frigid temps. Last week showed no improvement with continued bone-chilling temps and freezing-rain-slickened surfaces. Mother Nature sure didn’t help me with gleaning steps for my walking regimen, but finally on Friday, with temps that felt almost tropical, I got to the Park, visited with and fed my peanut-eating pals and got some photos as well.
So, let’s flashback to Summer, shall we?
We still had one more week to go until those dreaded Dog Days of Summer were over and yes, the weather outside WAS frightful: 90+ percent humidity and 71F (21C) when I got up at 5:30 a.m. But I had a destination to visit and planned to leave early to beat the heat. That destination was not a large park, but just a short walk at this flower-filled venue. I checked to see if I visited last time in July or August and it was July 31st and the Gardens were at peak then, so, given the fact we had had an abundance of rain, plus hot and sunny days, I decided it was a perfect time to visit.
I went to a garden party …
… but I wasn’t reminiscing with old friends. I was there … just me, myself and I and a cute little bunny that you’ll meet in a bit. Sundays are a good time to visit this venue because the volunteers are off, so there are no garden hoses to step over, or sprinklers to contend with. Also, they are always looking for volunteers, so if you appear really interested in these extensive gardens with thousands of blooms, i.e. if you’re taking a lot of photos, they sometimes “hit on you” to be a volunteer here, or at MacArthur Park a beautiful pollinator park just down the road. I always give them kudos but politely decline. 🙂
Suddenly I felt a presence and found myself in a stare down with a Cottontail bunny. We had surprised one other on that still Sunday morning and moments later it bolted into a colorful patch of Zinnias.
“Well, so much for that photo op” I muttered.
But I remained in place, then peered in between the gazillion Zinnias where it had disappeared. I was sure if it was close by, the bottom of those plants would be vibrating with each beat of its heart because yes, it looked that scared of this hulking woman toting her camera. I cooed at it, partly to calm it down, to reinforce that I meant no harm and yes, a bit self-serving on my part to encourage it to come back out into the open so I could take a picture.
That boop-on-the-snoot-cute bunny must have enjoyed all that sweet talkin’ as suddenly it tempted fate and sprung from its flower-filled hiding place, out in the open and I got a couple of shots before it scurried to another hiding place.
Ah well, I knew there would be a few stone bunnies to supplement this post with …
As I began my little tour around the Gardens, it was only about 8:30 a.m. and I already felt a dribble of perspiration trickling down my forehead and stinging my eyes. But I was here to make the best of this foray into the flowery joy that this venue is known for.
It’s a marvelous DAY for a moondance….
One of the highlights here is the Moonglow Sanctuary Garden, a small corner of the venue which features white flowers …
… and statuary.
I’ve included some of the painted rocks for the years when accolades were received for the moonglow garden walks in this slideshow below.
Now, let’s kick the color up a notch or two.
When I was reviewing the pictures taken on my little jaunt, I realized I had enough flower photos for multiple posts because there is so much to see and I sure was clicking away. So I’ll save the pretty pond, Children’s Garden and red rustic barn photos for another time.
A turn-of-the-century farmhouse is nestled between the pond and amidst these flower gardens with a path of paver bricks and/or mulch to walk to each area.
The farmhouse serves as the City of Trenton’s Cultural Center and social events are often held here, like fancy tea parties and holiday gatherings.
As I strolled around, I was disappointed to see zero butterflies that day and just a few bees, in this pollinator garden extraordinaire.
These were just a few of the most-vibrant flowers, the other end of the spectrum from The Moonglow Garden. I think my favorites were the Zinnias and Dahlias.
Bunches of Black-eyed Susans were looking bright and cheery …
… and a few Sunflowers were already towering over me. No sign of any Goldfinches flitting amongst these big flowers to munch sunflower seeds.
The dew on the roses made them look even more delicate.
I planted myself here for a few minutes, hoping to see some hummingbirds hovering near these gorgeous, dew-covered Cannas, but perhaps they were lying low somewhere with a cool breeze.
“Pretty in Pink” could have been the theme for many portions of this venue.
If your locale is going to be part of this massive Siberian Polar Vortex in the next few days, please stay warm and safe.
In the meantime, I will leave you with some sunny thoughts from this yard art in The Moonglow Garden: “I count nothing but sunny hours.”
As mentioned above, I am joining Week #2 of Terri’s Monthly Color Two-Week Challenge: WHITE.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
We aren’t in the path of the Polar Vortex where we live, but it is a bit nippy outside. Your beautiful photos of summer flowers warmed me up. I loved that all-white garden area.
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Well, California has enough of its own problems to contend with unfortunately. I thought of you recently as they mentioned an issue with the San Andreas fault, maybe after the recent earthquake. I remembered you once wrote about being near there. The Gulf Coast is very cold right now. Janis, these gardens are very beautiful and it’s nice to think of sunny, warm weather right now as this Polar Vortex descends. It’s already very cold today. I imagine the all-white garden looks pretty in the moonlight.
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Fortunately, we aren’t too close to the San Andreas fault (although, if there was a big earthquake along it, we’d probably feel it), but there is another, smaller one, fairly close. Yikes!
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It seems there is no one safe-and-perfect-weather venue anymore – that’s sad.
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Lovely moon garden. I enjoyed the angels in that garden!!
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I’ve never seen the moon garden in the moonlight TD, but I imagine it is very pretty. It is peaceful at this venue, but this area especially with its angels and fountain.
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I love all the sunny whites and colors of the August walk, Linda! The bunny is cute and I enjoyed seeing the statuary! The white farmhouse looks quaint surrounded by the colorful garden. I sure hope you stay warm and safe as the Polar Vortex descends! Back home its super cold, and even dipping into the low 30s here in Scottsdale, AZ now!
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The warm weather and beautiful gardens are something to look forward to Terri. I will be glad when it is Thursday and we are back to our normal-cold Winter weather. That bunny was so sweet … I’ve got no more bunny pics tucked away unfortunately. It’s that cold in Scottsdale – wow! I know they said the Gulf Coast was going to be very cold with this Polar Vortex, but I thought you all would be spared. I hope you took enough heavy clothing with you!
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I had warm clothing for our trip there and back, anticipating cold in Utah and Idaho. Last January the weather was cold in Scottsdale, but at least the sun is out.
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Good that there were no surprises then!
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It’s encouraging to see photos of colorful flowers when outside my window are shades of gray and lots of dirty snow. Thanks for reminding me, us, that there is color in this world. Sometimes.
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I agree Ally. “Bloomy” instead of “gloomy” and something to look forward to six months down the line … as for me, I’ll just be excited for Thursday when we are back to our usual cold, gray and gloomy Winter day.
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These brighten up a dreary winter! We are getting a lot of snow right now but I’d rather look at beautiful zinnias and boop on the nose bunnies any day!
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Yes, I thought we needed these flowers and a sunny day bigtime. We don’t have any snow, just bitter cold. A real feel of 0 right now. I just put in another load of laundry to keep the pipes warm downstairs.
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I loved seeing colourful scenes Linda! Reminds me of what was or stay tuned.
The Bunny was asking you to follow him to a Tea Party!
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I picked what I thought were the pretties of the flowers from that day Wayne – it was so colorful. I like going there at peak blooming time. I was bummed to see no butterflies though. Although when I returned the first week of October, since we had had such a warm Fall, the flowers were still looking pretty good and I saw some bees and a Painted Lady Butterfly. I only saw one butterfly at Memorial Park this year, no Monarchs which was odd, just a Black Swallowtail. You’re right – Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party! Look what we remembered from all those years ago!
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What a beautiful post that exudes colors and summer warmth!
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Thank you Donna! That day I visited the Gardens I knew it would be perfect to save for Wintertime post, not dreaming it would be a Siberian Polar Vortex when I decided to use it!
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Lovely flowers and a cute rabbit 😀
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I knew you would appreciate the flowers since you are surrounded by beautiful flowers at your place Brian. I was glad I could include a critter in this post, especially a cute one!
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Hoo boy, did I ever need these color photos and the reminder of warmer weather to come. I would never call hot and humid weather “frightful”. In fact, it sounds “delightful” to me right now (as I watch the snow falling).
Thanks for the colorful flower photos. I can’t wait until we see them again.
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I don’t think I’ll ever call hot and humid frightful again Laurie, not after this cold spell we have in store this week. Ugh! I know another blogger in your state said they were getting eight inches of snow – we have just the bitter cold, no snow. It’s -2 now as I write this comment. I marvel that green grass, flowers and the beauty that is Summer can happen again when you look outside in the heart of Winter. Glad to give you a shot of Summer!
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Shivering in North Carolina tonight, I soaked in all the warmth I could from these beautiful photographs! Thank you!
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Thank you Janet. I hoped to infuse some warmth and beauty into this post as so many people are dealing with this bitter cold right now all across the country.
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You accomplished your objective, Linda. The photos are lovely. I’m ready to start counting the days until spring now! It’s supposed to get above freezing here tomorrow for the first time since Sunday.
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Thank you Janet. I can’t wait until Spring and what is sad is that our Winter really didn’t begin until the new year. We had a lovely long Fall. We are turning a corner as well thankfully. As of now we are finally in double digits for temperature and at zero for the windchill. It has been a long three days!
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What a lot of color you had! Everything around me is white now, white with snow. Most of it will fall during the night when I can’t watch it. I’m sure it will be beautiful in the morning.
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Did you get a lot of snow Anne? I am late getting here and just hopped on Reader to see if you posted any pictures of the snow and you didn’t. Did you at least make one snow angel? 🙂
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The accumulation of snow seem to be about an inch to an inch and a half. Although it did not get up to freezing, the sun melted lots of the snow and ice. This afternoon I was able to sweep it off the car without having to scrape. I’m ready to drive again when there is no ice on the road.
As part of my exercise routine, I get on the floor to do some stretches and get up again. I would not get on the ground outside where someone might see me. I haven’t made a snow angel in 65 years. Would you make a snow angel?
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Okay, now I know why there were no snow pictures … I know you like snow. I saw some pictures of snow in Florida and Louisiana – wow! You are doing better than me with your exercise routine. I bought a CD and flash cards for yoga a few years ago and it WAS on my New Year’s resolution list to start yoga this year. I think I have blown every one of my resolutions this year. No, I probably wouldn’t make a snow angel either and thinking back, I probably haven’t made one since I moved to the U.S. in 1966 at at age 10. I remember Nathaniel made one and you had a picture of it (if memory serves me right).
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Your memory is excellent!
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Thank you Anne! I guess I am in tune with those memorable Mehrling moments.
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So pretty Hibiscus flower, you sharing white & white for winter weather. Your post away for the heart of Winter in order to fully appreciate that extremely hot and humid day. So beautiful all flowers. Excellent your photography 😀.
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Thank you Raj – glad you liked the pretty flowers. We are having very cold weather here. Right now it is a “real feel” of -16F (-26C). I wish I was sweltering in the heat right now.
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Most welcome,Linda. Iam so happy. I hope you stay warm & safe. There were coldest. OMG weather is -16 F weather. You had sweltering in the heat. Here’s normal weather.
God bless you 🙏 & Tack care.
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Thank you Raj. The weather here in the U.S. is pretty crazy all over. In the warmer states, they are having snow, including in New Orleans, Louisiana where they are having a blizzard! Very unusual weather for them. It is bitter cold here right now … Wednesday is supposed to be the last day of bitter cold weather – still cold, just not brutally cold.
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Most welcome, Linda! Tack Care! Stay warm & wearing warm clothes.
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I am looking forward to Spring! Thank you Raj.
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Those are some beautiful flowers, nice to see this time of year.
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Yes, it is nice to see a little color and sunshine – we won’t see flowers like this for another six months. Right now it is -16 “real feel” … I could do with a little sweltering in the heat and humidity right about now. 🙂
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This was a good antidote for today’s weather, with Temps struggling to hit 2 above! The colors are beautiful!
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I am glad it did the trick and made you feel warmer JP. The temps are brutal here too. Right now it is 6 degrees with a -16 “real feel” prompting me to say: “It ain’t a fit night out for man nor beast. – W.C. Fields
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I see we’re channeling a little Van Morrison today! I can’t begin to feel the heat and humidity of these photos when I consider the temps outside right now (and I’m talking South Carolina). Frankly, your garden tour looks like something from another planet. It’s safe to say the vast majority of the U.S. is shades of gray and/or brown right now. Having said that, your readers would be forgiven in thinking Detroit is dry and warm after watching Saturday night’s football game at Ford Field. I was sad for the outcome, Linda, for I wanted to say I’d been to Detroit in the same season the Lions won it all. Your team ran into the rookie buzz saw that is Jayden Daniels, and you made a few mistakes along the way. Thankfully history won’t dwell on one game. It was a great season no matter the outcome.
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Yes Dave, Van Morrison for the moonglow garden and also Ricky Nelson for the “Garden Party” reference. A little color and sunshine infusion is needed with this wintry weather descending on so many states. A fellow blogger in Alabama will be getting three to five inches of snow tonight! It is very cold here right now and the worst is yet to come. Right now it is 6 with a real feel of -16 … brrr. Yes, here in Detroit spirits are sagging too. I kept hearing fireworks in my neighborhood during the game, then nothing. I don’t have TV, having canceled my cable in 2010, but I peeked at the score online. Coach Campbell, when he found out their opponent said they were tough and that Jayden Daniels was playing very well. So I’ll bet he was already uneasy about them coming to town. Maybe next year and since they had a good run last year, perhaps the third time is the charm and will break this 67-year-old curse of not going to the Super Bowl, a/k/a ‘The Curse” and memorialized in a song by Jeff Daniels.
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What a lovely, colourful post to counteract the depressing effects of winter! 😍 And I appreciated the song references as well. 🙂 We have white, pink and mauve Rose of Sharon hibiscus bushes in our backyard, that bloom from July to September. Summer seems so far off right now! Your beautiful images definitely brightened my day. 🌺
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Glad to brighten your day Debbie! I saved one rosy-red Hibiscus photo to use for the rosy-red Challenge next month. It is a gorgeous color. I like Rose of Sharon. My neighbor has a purple one and it blooms like crazy. I always find it hard to believe that in the dead of Winter, especially a brutal Winter like we are having now, that everything comes back to life again. They have a huge perennial garden here, but many annuals too. I decided to hold back the pond picture with its water lotuses in case we have another cold spell! P.S. – I knew you’d catch those two music references. 🙂
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I love all the white in the Moonglow Sanctuary Garden and the beautiful colored plants at the Cultural Center. What a cheerful change from these cold winter days. Doesn’t seeing a bunny just make your day? 🙂
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I would love to see this Moonglow Sanctuary Garden at night Rebecca … it is already so peaceful during the day. I thought these pictures would help counteract the gloomy and gray days, not to mention bitter cold days that many of us are enduring across the U.S. Yes, this bunny was so cute, popping its head out and then running out again … I wondered why it left the patch of Zinnas for the open area and then paused? I think it liked me sweet talkin’ to it (like I do to the squirrels). 🙂
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It was nice to take a summer jaunt with you on this frigid day. When you started about looking for the bunny in the zinnias, I thought you might wind up like Alice chasing the white rabbit.😉
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Now, why didn’t I think of that angle for this post Eilene? I am always happy if I can scare up a critter when I only have pictures of trees or flowers to make it more interesting. I did creep over as close as I could get to those Zinnias in search of that bunny, but it emerged (maybe from a rabbit hole). 🙂 I’d would not be complaining the heat today, I will tell you that! It is 1 degree with a “real feel” of -14!
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What beautiful pictures for your white color challenge Linda. I feel nice and warm after seeing them, I love zinnias too. I wonder if the moon garden has moon flowers in it? They only bloom at night and close up at sunrise. Do you ever feed the bunnies? I wondered if you took carrots and if they didn’t pop out it would be a good snack for you. Lol (Just kidding)
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Thank you Diane – I am glad you liked it. This is the garden that has the big arbor with the Wisteria dripping down from it – from afar it looks like grape vines. I did not see any moonflowers when I was there – I wonder if they have them and I missed them? Marge had a deck and grew some moonflowers one Summer. They grew big and trailed along part of the deck. She wanted to take photos of them at night from her doorwall. She had a great view of the yard and fed the birds from feeders she hung on the gazebo. Many years ago when I had my canaries, they would get one baby carrot a day in a holder. Since I always had baby carrots on hand and I liked those carrots too, I took some once when I was seeing lots of bunnies at Council Point Park. I laid them down and pointed at them, but there was no interest. To be fair, it was clover time and the bunnies liked the clover better. The next day they were still there – even the squirrels didn’t eat them and they eat everything!
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That really surprises me that the bunnies didn’t eat the carrots. I didn’t know they eat clover.
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It surprised me too Diane. They love clover. I don’t have any clover in my yard (which surprises me as I have violets and dandelions) but I used to get a lot of bunnies back when I had a garden in back. They like Bleeding Heart and I finally gave up trying to grow them as they ate them every time.
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Beautiful photos!
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Thank you Kathy – hope they warmed you up if you are dealing with this brutally cold weather (and snow for some).
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What a beautiful place! I imagine some of your pollinators were hiding in the shadows from all that heat. I can’t blame them. Still, much as I don’t enjoy extreme heat, it looks awfully pretty right now. I hope you are staying warm, most of the time at least.
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It really is Zazzy. I was tempted to put the pond pictures in too for a real taste of Summer, but I’ll save them. That makes sense that the pollinators were seeking shade in that heat. I swear I won’t complain about Summer’s heat and humidity after this brutal cold, which thankfully is in its last day and the weather is a tad more normal tomorrow. I only went out to run my car the past three days as it was so frigid (-25 windchill this morning when I got up) – I hope you are staying warm too.
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Loved this post and what beautiful flowers.
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Thank you Kirstin! It is a beautiful venue and their volunteers work hard on this garden and another one down the road. Plus, there is a large barn on the property and behind the barn, the volunteers plant vegetables and after they harvest them, the veggies is distributed to a local food bank.
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I can almost smell spring in the air when I see those flower pictures! It has been snowing steadily here all day and I think we are supposed to get 20 cm and I really wish spring were here lol
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Glad to give you some inspiration that yes, Spring will come eventually, then Summer. Everyone was happy the Polar Vortex was over and heck, we could deal with an inch of snow, only it was more like three inches. Unless you are a snow enthusiast, there are no good qualities in Winter.
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Those zinnias are so pretty! And the bunny so adorable — love how the sunlight is illuminating his ear! I’ve always loved the idea of a moon garden, especially to enjoy it at dusk or after dark. All those white statues and white flowers are enchanting. It could be that it was too hot for the butterflies that day. AI Overview says “when temperatures get excessively high, butterflies will seek shade and become less active to avoid overheating.” The sunflowers seemed to be enjoying the heat, though. I enjoyed this summery post, Linda!
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Thank you Barbara, I’m glad you enjoyed this Summery post and it put you in the mood to see some flowers – soon you will be going to your botanical gardens and seeing all the Spring flowers starting to come up. I always look forward to seeing the Snowdrops emerge around a homeowner’s tree on my walk to the Park. They emerge as early as February if we had a thaw. I didn’t think about it being too hot for butterflies but it makes sense. I have some butterfly houses I had in my butterfly garden, but they were mostly for butterflies to seek shelter on windy days. You lift the lid and put small twigs inside, so they can alight and rest until the strong winds pass.
Marge had a Moonflower plant one year. It was very large and she put it in a planter on her deck to watch it at night when it opened from inside her house. She had a doorwall, perfect for watching birds at her feeders and birdbath and also to see her hummingbirds. That flower began trailing out of the pot and onto the deck. I have never seen this moongarden in moonlight. I follow the Emily Frank Gardens on Facebook and the volunteers post pictures of the Gardens, but I’ve not seen pics of the Moonglow Gardens. Maybe I should ask them if they take pictures at night when they return to tending the Gardens in April.
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Your photos were a feast for the eyes! The flowers are beautiful with all their colors, textures, and variety. I’m glad the little bunny decided to take a risk and jump out just enough for you to take a pic of its cute self.
My goodness, the Siberian Polar Vortex sounds dangerously cold. Please stay safe!
Have a wonderful Sunday. 🙂
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These flowers were like a breath of fresh air as we embarked on the Siberian Polar Vortex. Thank goodness it has moved on, but tomorrow we have a 40+ mph wind event. The weather, all around the world, is not for the feint of heart. That bunny was so darn cute Esther. I am glad it took a chance crossing that grass with the hulking human in its presence. 🙂
Same back at you!
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What a lovely reminder of our warmer days. We can get so caught up in the here and now, it’s comforting to know they will soon come around again and bring out more bunnies and friends ❤️
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I am looking forward to Spring after a cold, windy, sometimes snowy, sometimes icy, Winter. There is nothing like seeing the bunnies and the babies (goslings especially) once Spring arrives!
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