Yesterday was just picture-perfect, wasn't it? The grounds of Stan Hywet were already showing the celebration of the fall season. Mums were tucked all over the place. There were mums in the planters on the vista near the lily pond. There were mums stuffed in the rumble seat of the old car that must draw kids like a magnet.
The car is painted the most glorious shade of turquoise you've ever seen. It sits within the newest addition to the grounds of Stan Hywet. When you walk into the new children's attraction, classical music pours out of hidden speakers and bubbles start pouring out of the center of the wind chimes. There is a lawn bowling set. There is a sprinkler (turned off yesterday). There were two little blond children there yesterday with their mom who was doing her best to keep up with them. The littlest one stepped into the ring of jets for the sprinkler and had a puzzled look on her face. Either she'd been there before or she was very clever knowing that something was missing. She was quite fashionable wearing her pearl beads around her neck.
The Japanese garden was quiet and peaceful with the sounds of water first from the waterfalls and then gurgling here and there. The pagodas signaled the traditions of the East. Warren Manning, the landscape architect of the estate, recommended the garden as a way of showcasing and celebrating the familiar hardy plants that grow in the upper peninsula of Michigan where the Seiberlings had a vacation lodge.
The cutting gardens, perennial garden, and rose garden were just lovely. Most of the flowers were still in bloom, although some were starting to show their age. The sunflowers were all center and little petal, but someone had been enjoying them.
Inside the Conservatory, there were delightful plants from the tropics. There were succulents and cacti but there were also pencil trees, a flower that looked like pinkish pipe cleaners, a flower that looked like a feather, and a perfectly opened Bird of Paradise.
The English Garden was enchantment as it always is. The quiet little fountain dropping just enough water to wet the heads of the children crouched below their mother is always spectacular. There were little gems tucked here and there in the garden which in the fall has a different look entirely. It is more sparse and you can see the bones of the garden more clearly.
The Gate House is dedicated in many ways to the two men who started Alcoholics Anonymous -- Bill and Dr. Bob. And the woman who was at the center of their historic meeting at the Gate House -- Henrietta Seiberling. When the AA members come to town each year for their annual meeting and reunion, I can imagine that Stan Hywet is very, very crowded but especially so at the Gate House. The large panels inside the house that describe the beginnings of AA and the lives of Bill and Dr. Bob don't spare the details of their struggle with alcoholism. Both men were simply torn by their disease and both men needed the help of caring women to find a way out.
When you are at Stan Hywet, be sure to check out the gift shop. They have a lovely assortment of items and they are not overly pricey.
So I took 38 pictures yesterday and downloaded them off the camera when I got home. They are very, very good. Especially striking, as I'd hoped it would be, is the Birch Allee. Walking through it was like being in a movie with my eyes being the lens of the camera.
God has touched Stan Hywet in many different ways, but in no place more than the little English cottage -- the Gate House. And God is mentioned in the panels, how we must learn to submit to his will and be quiet -- listen for his voice -- one of the founders counseled.
Have a blessed Friday. Enjoy this beautiful fall weather.
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