JUNO WAVES HELLO

Our botanical garden was founded in 1859 by a native Englishman, Henry Shaw, a very successful businessman and amateur horticulturalist who made St. Louis his home. Locals still often refer to the place as Shaw's Garden. His home and adjacent private garden have been preserved and restored. I do not know why he chose to place a statue of Juno in the middle of it, but she can do the Windsor Wave with the best of the royals.            

THE PATH

Between the old buildings at the botanical garden. Henry Shaw's house is off to the left. A statue of Juno has its back to us while gazing at the 19th Century mansion.             

Juno

A statue of Juno stands in a back corner of the botanical garden behind Henry Shaw's house. She always seems to be hitchhiking, even on a brilliant summer day, as in this old post. Perhaps due to the stories of scary people thumbing rides these days, she hasn't made much progress.

We made it to Marysville, Kansas, yesterday, driving from Kansas City in a cold rain. Wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Mrs. C's mother, who will be 97 on Saturday, and her youngest sister. There is steady freezing rain and dropping temperatures as I write this Thursday evening, which might interfere with the big annual party out on the family farm today. Hoping for rural pix on Saturday.                  

Back Corners Of The Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden has broad open areas where the events of the Japanese Festival were held. It also has beautiful back corners with a more intimate scale.

These photos are of Tower Grove House, home of Henry Shaw, the founder of the Garden and adjacent Tower Grove Park. The turret on the right side of the building is the tower. You can barely see a railing on the very top, from which Shaw could observe his, well, um, groves.

The white statue is of Juno, queen of the Roman gods. If you look at it from a certain angle you'd swear she was hitchhiking. The third photo is a wraith-like figure within the glass walls of Shaw's tomb. The last was moved to the Garden from our 1904 World's Fair. It represents Persephone during her time on earth on parole from Hades, pouring water so crops may prosper.                

Give Her A Ride

Statue of Juno, apparently hitchhiking her way across the Missouri Botanical Garden.