Thursday, September 28, 2017

Visiting a Franciscan Monastery, a stop on the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling

Our final stop on the first day of the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling was at The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America.

From our Fling materials..."The Franciscan Monastery is described as an oasis of peace and includes over 1,000 roses and numerous perennials and annuals as well as grottos, sculptures, and a chapel. Despite varied religious beliefs, the serene setting of the monastery reinforces the need for peace and common ground during difficult times."

My lack of religious leanings leaves me at a loss for the significance some must feel in places like this, but my love of architecture steps up to fill that void.

And of course I'm always on the look out for interesting plant sightings.

Opuntia!

And Yucca...

And so many arches...

Lots of Onoclea sensibilis.

And tile artwork...

The intricate stone detail on the columns was worth staring at...

And they were repeated over and over and over...

I would have loved to poke around inside the building for a bit, but that's probably reserved for the true believers.

As is the case at every stop on the Fling it was soon time to pack it up and get on the bus...

Weather Diary, Sept 27: Hi 86, Low 56/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

10 comments:

  1. Not exactly the kind of architecture I would expect to see in DC but I love the planting with the swirly grass. What visual energy!

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    1. It was an odd Fling stop, but I enjoyed the architecture.

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  2. Nice mosaic work & the columns in the cloister are interesting. This feels like a combination of Southwest U.S. and Mediterranean styles.

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  3. I took photos at the monastery but wasn't able to find the necessary inspiration in them for a post. As usual, you saw things I didn't, like the yucca.

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    1. I almost didn’t post about this stop, but then decided what the heck....

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  4. The arches are cool. Garden seems a little underwhelming.

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    1. True that. There was another entire section of the grounds, sunken, with a grotto, but I didn’t take any photos down there...it too left a little (lot) to be desired.

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  5. What a setting! That collonade (is that the right term?) lends gravitas to an already impressive garden.

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    Replies
    1. I have no idea, maybe cloister? Peter used that term....

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