Powell Gardens 2019

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Roanoker
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Powell Gardens 2019

Post by Roanoker »

I assume Powell Gardens is close enough to Kansas City for these pictures to be appropriate here. My son and I visited this place on 5/31/19. It claims to be Kansas City's botanical garden. It is a 970-acre botanical garden in Kingsville, Missouri, 30 miles east of Kansas City. It features 6,000 varieties of plants, with 225,000 plants in seasonal displays, and is open to the public, for a fee, during daylight hours.

We didn’t have enough time to visit the entire facility, spending most of our visit in the most sparse part. Also, I was using my new-to-me Nikon 3400. My other Nikon was better in its day, but it threw a few unpleasant fits. So here goes…

Pleasant enough start.
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Trees are good.
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Now, if you were a botanical garden, how would you greet visitors?
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I added a few yellow pansies to sparse areas. Two were from the part I cropped off. Another is a copy of one in this picture, slightly rotated.
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Edible? Dunno.
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Don’t you love big trees that are allowed to grow and spread without obstruction?
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Now what caused these holes?
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Mystery solved. Notice the mention of LEGO art. That’s one reason we visited this place.
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This is the nice building where you go to pay your entrance fee.
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This is the first LEGO critter I observed. There will be many more.
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This hanging basket held some rather elegant and ornate flowers.
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Interesting concept. You could look at flowers through microscopes.
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Roanoker
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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We are in a botanical garden. There will be flowers.
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They are so pretty.
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And they are so perfect.
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It’s like an army of charmers.
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Oops! This one’s from the other side of the tracks. Or world.
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Fiesta time!
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Looking for a man’s lapel.
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Reaching out.
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Flowers can be found in surprising places.
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A simple columbine looks more like a king’s crown.
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Not all orange suits are found in prisons.
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Not quite redundant.
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Roanoker
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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Lake peeking through.
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The blue spruce tree was nice enough, but a close-up serves the purpose better.
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To get the best view of this maroon tree, you do need to step back a bit.
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Like Christmas tree ornaments.
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Those rose/purple leaves could pass for flowers.
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This is a small part of the original image. The blue flowers deserved a closeup.
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Not sure if the less fluffy ones are budding or seeding.
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Looks like a pink sandwich sack.
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Sometimes thin is better.
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Like vanilla ice cream.
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The blue pot gets much of the glory here.
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Yellow wins.
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normalthings
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by normalthings »

I never realized how big the place was. Do you know where they get their funding from? I assume they don’t run on admissions alone.
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Roanoker
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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Yes, it does seem to be a big place. We didn't see more than half of it. I didn't really know much about the funding, either. I looked online briefly and found this statement at <http://gkccf.guidestar.org/nonprofit.aspx?orgId=1322>:

"The Gardens, like many non-profits, always needs funding. We have a three-tiered approach to funding the Gardens’ operating needs: Endowment, Earned Income, and Contributions. The Gardens has grown considerably, so focusing on strategies that will grow the revenue streams is at the forefront of my mind, as well as the board of directors and senior leadership. Under objective #4, our focus is to shore up the Gardens’ key revenue streams to sustain it for future generations."

I also found this statement at <https://powellgardens.org/homepage/memb ... -campaign/>:

"Today, Powell Gardens operates on an annual budget of $3 million, with revenues generated in equal amounts from earned income, including admissions, rentals and memberships; philanthropic gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations; and endowment income, combined with the support of the Powell Family Foundation."
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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These colors are great. The flowers seem to be made of wax, but they are real. And perfect.
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The old gray bench, she ain’t what she used to be. Notice the one purple “lollipop” unfurling. It got a late start.
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Closeup of two “pops.”
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This giant planter has a ways to go.
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The purple “cabbage” has a few admirers.
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Harvest Garden explanation.
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The produce garden is coming along.
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Fences and flowers. Love it.
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This little guy is in the midst of a banquet.
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“Shall I be white or maroon?"
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Proud pink.
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Feeble attempt to force a portrait-oriented image into a 4:3 space.
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Roanoker
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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I plopped the picture into the natural frame it contains. Ignore the blue hose. Too lazy to clone it out.
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Okay. This started out as a portrait-oriented image. The marigolds were below the cabbage in the dirt. I simply moved them and cropped.
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Like your little kid at a dance recital.
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Not my favorite picture of my son. He is holding a water bottle and reading something on the ground. It’s the only picture I had of the entrance to the apple section. I like the metal apple sculpture.
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I copied the bench leg in the forefront, at original size, and pasted it into a selected stroke around the image to make a frame.
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We are approaching the vineyard.
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And here we are.
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Please notice the grape vine as part of the gate. It would have taken too much time to block out the background.
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A smaller portion was more manageable.
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I assume something will be climbing this arbor before too long.
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Two versions of the same picture blended into one.
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Detail in white flowers is usually difficult to maintain. These turned out better than the above picture in that regard.
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by Highlander »

Looks like a great place. I've never actually been. It's too bad it's so far out of town. With the expanse of Swope Park, it's too bad something like this doesn't exist there. So much underutilized space in a great setting so close to the city.
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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We'll have to go back, as we didn't see all of it. Ran out of time. It didn't seem all that far away, but I suppose it would be nice to have a beautiful garden right smack in Kansas City.

On to the next set of pictures.

More work to be done.
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Lots of Golden Oregano.
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I find these twisty stems rather fascinating.
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The original background was very busy, with nothing to offer except distraction from these lovely blooms. The current background is a small part of the walkway or wall—not sure which. I spent forever cutting away the unwanted junk. Now it looks more like a drawing.
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We are into the pansies. Sorry about the number. I really did cast some of them aside. Just not these.
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They’re so pretty.
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Yellow or purple?
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Last one, trying to hide.
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That bug is trying to hide, too.
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I forgot why this building is there. It must have a good purpose.
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See the tower in the last picture? These are stairs leading up to the top.
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Here is one view from the top.
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by KCCat »

Nice photos Roanoker. I have only been to Powell Gardens once and that was during their festival of butterflies!
https://powellgardens.org/event/festiva ... erflies-3/
Roanoker wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:20 pmIt didn't seem all that far away, but I suppose it would be nice to have a beautiful garden right smack in Kansas City.
Have you ever gone to Kauffman Garden at 4800 Rockhill Rd just east of the plaza? It is a very small but lovely garden with several fountains and is also a monarch waystation.
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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Thank you, KCCat. I didn't know about the festival of butterflies or Kauffman Garden. I should see more around our city. Maybe you could snap a few pictures and post them here. I would love to see them.
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

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View from tower.
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Looking to the left, still from the tower.
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Same view, with a close-up beyond.
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Yours truly, walking around below with no camera. Somebody else has it in the tower.
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Peaches! A more interesting subject.
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My little boy.
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A serious threat.
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Powell Gardens is a good place for young people to learn about botany and agriculture. Old people, too.
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It’s easy to walk on leaves here.
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A yellow brick road! Except for the yellow part.
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A popsicle for bees and butterflies.
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Sticks and stones may break my bones. Well, you can forget about the stones.
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KCCat
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by KCCat »

I need to get back to Powell Gardens and see the rest of it. It looks like a really beautiful place.

Roanoker, I have been going to Kauffman Garden since 2005, and you wouldn't believe how many gigabytes of photos I have from there! LOL It is a very beautiful and peaceful place and does not take a lot of time to walk through the area. Ewing and Muriel Kauffman are buried there and their graves are always beautifully decorated.

Here is the link for an album I put on Google photos back in 2014. It is supposed to be public, so let me know if it doesn't work.

https://photos.google.com/u/1/album/AF1 ... fXQs82QRjN

It is not close up in those photos, but they have a beautiful building with skylights, which they call the orangery that has several beautiful palm trees and is where they bring all of their huge potted plants in the winter.

Right after Thanksgiving they have an awesome poinsettia display in this building too. Here is a photo of that from last year.

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Roanoker
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by Roanoker »

Hi, KCCat. The photo you posted above shows that Kauffman Garden is indeed a beautiful place. I clicked on the link you provided, but the site required me to sign in. I don't have an account with them, so I couldn't see your other pictures. Not that it matters, but Flickr allows you to keep up to a thousand pictures of any size on their site for free. Since I have over 14,000 pictures there, I do pay an annual fee. Thank you for your kind consideration.
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by KCCat »

Okay Roanoker, I am trying this again. :)

Here is another link for that same album. Hope this one works!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eVHfHQ8Ruoau4AQ16
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Re: Powell Gardens 2019

Post by Roanoker »

It did work, KCCat! What beautiful pictures! There were so many butterflies. Almost like a Disney movie. Thank you for giving me another shot at your lovely photos.
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