March 21, 2012

A Grecian Garden Blooms In Dixie


A little corner of Greece sits  on the southern most
outcroppings of the Appalachian Mountains in
The Jasmine Hill Gardens in Alabama.

The gardens are at their most beautiful in Spring when
the huge azaleas and the delicate dogwood trees are blooming.











Jasmine Hill Gardens began in the 1930's when a couple
who loved Greek culture built their home on the rolling
property. They also constructed a huge garden area
grounded with Alabama plantings and embellished
with reproduction Greek statues and other beautiful
garden decor.





The couple made over twenty trips to Greece to
purchase the art objects for their gardens.
Statuette of Athena

The Combatant


The Marathon Boy

Girl Playing Knuckle Bones

One of my favorite settings for the statuary was a
reproduction of the statue "Winged Victory".




Doesn't this look like she is leaving a trail of azaleas as she is walking?

Not all statuary in the garden is Grecian.  The couple
collected European objects also.

A bronze statue in a fountain and pool area


These terra cotta dogs are antiques from a garden in Italy.



Large olive and wine jars from Italy and Greece




More Italian pieces are the the lions made in Venice of vicenza stone.



The lions flank a walkway leading up to a marble bench that was carved in Florence, Italy.

The lions decrease in size as they approach the bench, giving the illusion of greater distance.

The original Temple of Hera was destroyed by an earthquake
in Greece.  In 1874 it was partially rebuilt.  Jasmine Hills
has an reproduction of the temple as it looks now (except 
for the addition of the pool).




When the world-wide Olympics are held, the original flame used in the torch is ignited in Greece
  at the original site of the Temple of Hera. In 1996 when the Summer Olympic Games were held in nearby Atlanta, the path of the Olympic torch came to this replica.  There was a big ceremony for it here.

A pretty display the gardens had when we visited recently
was a collection of assorted amaryllis in bloom in pots
along a stone bench area.
I'm so used to seeing amaryllis being forced bloomed at Christmas that I forget this is the
actual time of year they bloom naturally.




Now the gardens are only open select times of the year.
We had out of town company that we were wanting to
take to a place with local flavor. We read that the gardens
were open during their stay and decided to take them there.
   I forget about going to visit Jasmine Hills even though it is
only about a 20-minute drive from my house.  There's
nothing like company to get you out to see your local sights.

One of our guests in front of the huge azalea bushes.  The bees were plentiful and in a feeding
frenzy in the azaleas but nobody got stung.  I think the bees were too busy to notice us.


Some of the azalea blooms were big and showy...




...and some were smaller and more delicate.



More azalea buds waiting for their time to bloom

There were even a few bushes of Alabama's
state flower, the camelia, still in bloom.

The efforts of the original couple to establish the gardens has
been continued by another family wanting to preserve
Jasmine Hill for future generations to enjoy. They established
a foundation to maintain the works brought over from
Greece and Europe and also to expand on the vision.

I'm sharing this post over at

15 comments

  1. Thanks for bring us to the flowery and colorful garden. Spring has sprung. Cheerful to the all the pretty flowers. We also have some sort of them here in Hong Kong

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  2. Wow! I'm honored since I'm Greek!

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  3. How absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful! WOW-xo Diana

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  4. What gorgeous flowers! A wonderful stroll through all that beauty.

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  5. Thank you for sharing this beautiful garden. So pretty.

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  6. What a gorgeous place. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  7. Wow, there are a lot of beautiful flowers in those gardens. What a lovely place.

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  8. Wonderful garden! Incredible work they spent on their garden. Nice to see amaryllis in the spring. I wish you a wonderful weekend! Zinnia

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  9. I'm so glad to run across your post on Serenity Now. I live in Alabama, but have never been to Jasmine Hill. Looks like a fabulous field trip for my girls and me.

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  10. What beautiful photo's! I had so much fun looking at each and every one of them! Thank you!

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  11. Beautiful photos of one of my favorite spots. We have not made it there yet this year, but hope to visit this week.

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  12. Be still my heart! I had never heard of this garden - it is breathtaking! I'd love to visit! Your photos are fabulous. Thank you for sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  13. How absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing! I featured this post tonight!

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  14. What a beautiful garden! Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

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  15. I am from Alabama and can't believe I have not visited Jasmine Hill before. Now, I know I should. It is amazing and very beautiful.

    Glad you shared this at "Oh the Places I have Been."

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