April's Theme: Triangles

I'm a little late to the game for this month's theme topic for City Daily Photo, which is "triangles."

This photo was taken during our visit to Salt Lake City back in 2010. The Mormon/Latter Day Saints (LDS) Conference Center, located to the north of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, was completed in April of 2000. The auditorium in the Conference Center seats 21,000. The building is constructed of granite from the same quarry which provided the granite for the Temple. A semi-annual world general conference is held at the headquarters of the LDS Church at Temple Square and includes music by the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the auditorium.

The builders decided that the roof should not be wasted space, and so designed a rooftop garden with pathways that meander throughout trees, native flowers, and other plantings. A guided tour of the center offers an elevator ride to the roof where you'll have a great view of the city and the mountains beyond.  The pyramid shapes are actually atrium windows channeling natural light into the building below.

Conveniently, this post also fits in with Skywatch Friday - and you can see more posts here.

Thatched Roof, Revisited

As promised last March, I am posting a summertime photo of the thatched roof with the goat weathervane from La Crosse's Friendship Gardens.  The hanging flower planter on the side of the shed was both beautiful and fragrant!

Colorful Heron

I posted a picture of this heron a few years back, but here is another view of the "Pump House Heron" statue at the International Friendship Gardens in La Crosse.  I really like the painted promise of colorful summertime flowers contrasted against the bare and chilly spring background.

Garden Arch

The welcoming entrance arch to the "International Friendship Gardens" in La Crosse's Riverside Park.

A Norwegian Leprechaun?

We are visiting relatives in La Crosse this weekend and during our morning walk down by the river we wandered through the "Friendship Gardens."  With the long winter coming to an end, it's still quite stark and gray this time of year - very different from the bright flowers and blue skies of summer.  This part of Wisconsin has a prominent Scandinavian heritage, and tucked among the evergreen shrubs and bare branches are several Norwegian "trolls" guarding the grounds. It's the closest I can get to an Irish Leprechaun. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Black-Eyed Susans

While at "Taste of Lake Country" at Pewaukee Lake a few weeks ago, I couldn't resist taking a picture of these happy Black-Eyed Susans. There is a lovely tended garden at the west end of the park with other Wisconsin native flowers, along with a few exotics, such as hibiscus.

Gazebo

This pretty, intricately painted ceiling is inside the domed gazebo in the international friendship gardens in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The colors remind me of the fall season to come. The whole state of Wisconsin will be awash in reds, golds and browns by October. The following image is a full length view of the gazebo with its marble columns. Around the dome, in gold paint, are the words "friendship" in several different languages.