The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They were an incredible series of ascending tiered gardens with brick walls 22 feet thick and plantings of all kinds, even full- grown trees. By one account, the gardens were near the ancient city of Babylon, in what is modern day Iraq. As that story goes, King Nebuchadnezzar II, a Neo-Babylonian ruler in 605 BC, built the gardens for his homesick wife, Queen Amytis who missed the green hills of her homeland.
A hand-colored engraving, probably made in the 19th century, showing the Hanging Gardens, with the Tower of Babel in the background.
The Hanging Gardens are the single ancient wonder whose location has not been absolutely verified. An earlier Assyrian ruler actually has a stronger story. King Sennacherib (704 – 681 BC) engineered the incredible feat of moving water from the Tigris River up to his palace in the City of Nineveh through canals and aqueducts that stretched over 50 km into the mountains. He then used water- raising screws to lift the water to the necessary elevations. Sennacherib left detailed written descriptions of his work, his grandson illustrated a large garden on a sculptured wall panel in the palace. Recent excavations also support an extensive system of aqueducts servicing the land around King Sennacherib’s palace. Love the idea!
I was delighted to see the new white feather hosta return white and hearty after winter.
The garden is coming to life. New faces appearing daily. The gladiolas are planted. The large vases are filled and ready for growing. Many of the beds are mulched- one day at a time. Only three yards of the brown stuff left.
Extravagant gardens the world over are a wonderful feature for people to enjoy. I find formal gardens by their design, calming. What do you think? Check these gardens out.
Linda Ronstadt sings Blue Bayou- 1983. Written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson; it was originally sung and recorded by Orbison. It’s shocking the song is so old, BUT. The voice is what matters. And what a voice!
This next week will be full of craft festival preparation for our trip to Greenwich and the Bruce Museum on May 19 and 20. It’s the 33rd Annual Festival- Lots of artists expected. We’ll be showing all our pillows and some new scarves too! Come on down! You can see all the in-stock pillows here.
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