A last picture from The Observatory in the Missouri Botanical Garden. Off to one side is a traditional hedgerow maze. I am frightened by these things. It’s a dim memory, but it seems that once I felt hopelessly lost in one and had to call out for help to a monitor on a tower overlooking the puzzle. (Edinburgh?) I’d rather photograph this one from above.
The land that became the Missouri Botanical Garden was originally the estate of Henry Shaw. He was the son of a steel manufacturer in the British Midlands and was sent here in the 19th Century as an agent. He settled in St. Louis and made a fortune, using some of his money on his hobby as a keen amateur botanist. He built an octagonal tower, an observatory, to view his domain. This building is a reproduction but faithful to the original design.
