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.            

HENRY AND PIOTR

Locals often refer to the Missouri Botanical Garden as Shaw's Garden. Henry Shaw was a 19th Century rich guy with vision and an interest in plants, His estate provided the cash and land for today's garden, its extensive research program and adjacent Tower Grove Park (our loveliest, IMHO). 

This building was his home. It didn't have dancing ballerinas in silhouette in the late 19th Century. Today there is a son et lumiere show on special occasions. You can guess that The Nutcracker was going on here. Tchaikovsky and Shaw were rough contemporaries, although Shaw lived far longer. The water and air must have been better in St. Louis than Moscow. Still, you can almost hear the flutes and celesta over the bassoons and low clarinets as you look at the image.              

EVENING IN THE GARDEN

One of our local treasures is the Missouri Botanical Garden, known locally as Shaw's Garden after its 19th Century founder, Henry Shaw. This is the central reflecting pool, much longer than it looks here through a wide angle lens. Yes, that's Chihuly glass. The garden had one of its nighttime light shows among the plants and buildings, more of which to come.