The Blogger's Garden

It is still my dream to be a philanthropist in the serious sense of the word. I love to see people who are spending their money to bring hope and awareness to causes. It’s great to see those spare dollars at work in my own town, and across the world. I think it’s easy to forget that people in our own community need help too. It’s also easy to forget that there are causes that need money like the arts, zoos, aquariums, and gardens that help bring beauty and to educate. With so many causes doing good things, I think the hardest part would be deciding how to spread the love around.

For some additional information on the White House gardens and their history check out my post from the Fall tour.

Has anyone seen it? It conjures up so many ideas about gardens, buildings and cities all with multiple uses and forms intertwined with each other.

From the Historic District of Downtown Charleston. The Laurens-Rutledge House, circa 1760. It is a National Historic Landmark. The former Governor’s mansion. It is currently the luxuriuous “The Governor’s House Inn” with 11 bedrooms, 12.5 baths, 9 fireplaces, 13 foot ceilings, and spacious piazzas. The gardens were designed by famous charleston designer, robert Chesnut.

Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya built this royal house over a one Sq. km property in Agartala between 1899 and 1901. It is a two storied mansion, having a mixed type of architecture with three high domes, the central one being 86’ high. The magnificent tile floor, curved wooden ceiling and beautifully crafted doors are particularly notable. The palace is set with huge Mughal style gardens, beautified by pools and gardens and tiled floors.

Partnering with I. M. Pei Architect, Pei Partnership Architects is currently designing the 15,000-square-meter Suzhou Museum in Suzhou, China. The museum will house the rich treasures of the 2,500-year-old city, and will complement both the artifacts and Suzhou itself with its traditionally inspired yet contemporary architecture. The museum will be equipped with 7,000 square meters of exhibition galleries, a 200-seat auditorium, a museum shop, administrative and curatorial offices, a research library & study center and extensive art storage facilities and several Chinese gardens.

In Central Kyoto there is the old Imperial Palace which was the Emperor’s residence before the capitol was moved to Tokyo, and the Nijo Castle, which was the castle of the Shogun. The old Imperial Palace includes many interesting old buildings and several gardens on 27 acres. The Kyoto Imperial Palace clearly shows the Japanese taste for simple decor at the residence of the Imperial family until the capital was relocated to Tokyo in 1868. The Nijo Castle is a huge area complete with stone walls, and gardens, and was the castle of the Tokugawa shogun.

What are the Seven Wonders of the World? Think fast. Well, if you think you knew, you might want to reconsider. Ok, so there really isn’t just one list of wonders. The best-known lists are those of the 2nd-century-BC writer Antipater of Sidon and of a later but unknown observer of the 2nd century BC who claimed to be the mathematician Philon of Byzantium. Included on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were: the Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria.