Tag Archives: flower

Puzzle: Bellingrath Gardens, Alabama


Size: 500 pieces
Producer: MB Puzzle, Little Big Ben series
Notes: Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a 26 ha botanical garden and mansion located on the Fowl River in Theodore, a suburb of Mobile, Alabama. The gardens include a bridal garden, a conservatory, a great lawn, a nature walk, an Oriental garden, a rose garden, a chapel, the Mermaid Pool, Mirror Lake, an observation tower, and a river pavilion where river cruises are provided on the Southern Belle and the “Kingfisher”.

The garden pathways are composed of flagstone that had been obtained from the old city sidewalks in Mobile, where they had been in place since arriving as ballast in sailing vessels collecting loads of cotton for the mills at Manchester, England.

The gardens feature live oaks, camellias, azaleas, roses, and chrysanthemums year round. Plants featured in winter are tulips, snapdragons, pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale, daffodils, poppies, primroses, and many varieties of narcissus. Plants featured in spring include the more than 250,000 azaleas, hydrangeas, Easter lilies, impatiens, salvia, fuchsia, and Pelargonium geraniums. Plants featured in summer are the more than 2000 roses, allamandas, hibiscus, copper plants, begonias, ornamental peppers, bougainvillea, caladiums, coleus, vinca, and marigolds. Plants featured in fall are over 8,000 bedded, potted and cascading chrysanthemums, hibiscus, and copper plants. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Field of Dreams


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 86.36cm x 30.48cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, Panorific series
Notes: A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants (grassland). It may be naturally occurring or artificially cleared. It may be cut for hay or grazed by livestock such as cattle, sheep or goats.

A transitional meadow occurs when a field, pasture, farmland, or other cleared land is no longer farmed or heavily grazed  and starts to overgrow. Once meadow conditions are achieved, however, the condition is only temporary because the early colonizers will be shaded out when woody plants become well-established.

In North America prior to European colonization, Algonquian, Iroquois and other Native American people regularly cleared areas of forest to create transitional meadows where deer could find nutrition and be hunted. Many places named “Deerfield” are located at sites where Native Americans once practised this form of land management. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Floral Vista


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 86.36cm x 30.48cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, Panorific series
Notes: The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus’s native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip’s centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains. A number of species and many hybrid cultivars are grown in gardens, as potted plants, or to display as fresh-cut flowers. Most cultivars of tulip are derived from Tulipa gesneriana. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Summer’s Delight


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 50.8cm x 50.8cm
Producer: Springbok, by Hallmark, PZL2443
Photographer: Phil Smith
Notes: Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to climate, culture and tradition.

From an astronomical view, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but a variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological  start of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks later than the start of the astronomical season. According to meteorologists, summer extends for the whole months of June, July and August in the northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January and February in the southern hemisphere. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Grand Teton Mountain, Wyoming, USA


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Big Ben, MB Puzzles
Notes: Grand Teton, at 4,199 m, is the high point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The mountain is entirely within the Snake River drainage basin, which it feeds by several local creeks and glaciers.The Teton Range is a minor range of the Rocky Mountains, which extend from southern Alaska to northern New Mexico.

The origin of the current name is controversial. The most common explanation is that “Grand Teton” means “large teat” in French, named by either French-Canadian or Iroquois members of an expedition led by Donald McKenzie of the North West Company. However, other historians disagree, and claim that the mountain was named after the Teton Sioux tribe of Native Americans. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Middleton Place Garden


Size: 750 pieces
Dimensions: 59.69cm x 39.37cm
Producer: The Canadian Group, Sure-Lox, Puzzlers Collection series
Notes: Middleton Place is a plantation in Dorchester County, directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston and about 24 km northwest of Charleston, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Built in several phases throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the plantation was the primary residence of several generations of the Middleton family, many of whom played prominent roles in the colonial and antebellum history of South Carolina. The plantation, now a National Historic Landmark District, currently functions as a museum, and is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Garden Party


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.4cm x 35.5cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, Wonderful World series
Notes: A garden party is a social gathering with food provided, in the open in a park or a garden. Unlike a picnic or barbecue, which are informal, a garden party can be a prestigious event. For example, invitations to parties of the British Sovereign, held at Buckingham Palace Gardens, are a great honour, and are very rare except for those in traditionally invited high offices.

Many games are traditionally played at garden parties. In Champs-Élysées, Paris, there is an annual Garden Party on 14 July on the occasion of Bastille Day. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Lost in a Jigsaw II – Survival of the Fittest


Size: 515 pieces
Dimensions: 47cm x 44cm
Artist: Kristin D. Fundalinski
Producer: Buffalo Games
Instructions: PDF from the manufacturer
Notes: Danger at every turn! Danger and beauty strike an uneasy truce in Lost in a Jigsaw II = Survival of the Fittest. One wrong move can unleash the predator, upset a delicate balance. One wrong turn and you could become the prey. Created by a devious unknown keeper, your safari adventure will take you through fabulous habitat, a tour of beasts both friendly and fierce and an intricate maze with only one way through. Your wits are your only weapons and logic is your only guide through this primal jigsaw puzzle labyrinth.

Your maze consists of a 515 piece diagonally cut jigsaw puzzle, with more than 60 separate scenes, some combining to form individual habitats, and others comprising the one and only route to completion. Lost in a Jigsaw II is o unique that its inner workings are patented. Patent 5,351,957 describes a process by which puzzle scenes are connected by logic and not just simply by color or fit. Each piece is identically shaped and the puzzle can be correctly assembled only by figuring out the devious maze! A complete solution and hints to get you started are included inside. Good luck! [Puzzle box]

Puzzle: Fresh Bouquet


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 58cm x 74cm
Producer: American Publishing, LJN Toys
Notes: A flower bouquet is a collection of flowers in a creative arrangement. There are different kinds including nosegay, crescent, and cascading bouquets. Even before flower bouquets were used by brides in wedding they were used in a different form of art. They appeared as early as the 17th century and possibly earlier. Flower bouquets were captured in paintings and on pottery as decorations.

The art of arranging flowers was first documented in the 17th century, when the Dutch, in particular, painted wonderful informal arrangements of flowers. In the 18th century, arrangements were used to decorate the houses of the wealthy families and the aristocracy.

In years past, as a matter of tradition, an upper class bride was required to hold a bouquet of roses or flowers as she walked down the aisle to prevent body odor from spreading and to drive away evil spirits. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Garden Bluebird


Size: 300 pieces (oversized)
Dimensions: 38cm x 54cm
Producer: Buffalo Games
Artist: Joe Hautman
Notes: The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. They have blue, or blue and red, plumage. Female birds are less brightly colored than males, although color patterns are similar and there is no noticeable difference in size between sexes.

Bluebirds are territorial, prefer open grassland with scattered trees and are cavity nesters (similar to many species of woodpecker). Bluebirds can typically produce between two and four broods during the spring and summer (March through August in the Northeastern United States). Males identify potential nest sites and try to attract prospective female mates to those nesting sites with special behaviors that include singing and flapping wings, and then placing some material in a nesting box or cavity. If the female accepts the male and the nesting site, she alone builds the nest and incubates the eggs. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Tropical Meditation Garden


Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: MB Puzzles, Big Ben
Box: photo
Notes: A tropical garden features tropical plants and requires good rainfall or a decent irrigation or sprinkler system for watering. These gardens typically need fertilizer and heavy mulching.

Tropical gardens are no longer exclusive to tropical areas. Many gardeners in colder climates are adopting the tropical garden design, which is possible through careful choice of plants and flowers. Main features include plants with very large leaves, vegetation that builds in height towards the back of the garden, creating a dense garden. Large plants and small trees hang over the garden, leaving sunlight to hit the ground directly. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Aristide’s Garden


Size: 500 pieces
Notes: Aristides (530 BC – 468 BC) was an Athenian statesman, nicknamed “the Just”. Herodotus is practically our only trustworthy authority. Aristides is praised by Socrates, in Plato’s dialogue Gorgias 526a-b, as an exceptional instance of good leadership. [Wiki]

It is unknown to which gardens this puzzle is referring. A search reveals Aristide/Aristides/Aristidis  gardens present in Greece, the States, and the United Kingdom. I also do not have a record of the artist who created the picture. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the location of these gardens and the author of the picture, I would much appreciate that information.

Puzzle: Nostalgic Still Life


Size: 1000 pieces
Producer:  Warren, RoseArt, Prestige Puzzle series
Notes: A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate  subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Still life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted. [Wiki]

Puzzle: Three Graces, by Josephine Wall


Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 33.02cm x 48.26cm
Producer:  Rose Art, Jewel Scapes series
Artist: Josephine Wall is an English born artist who currently resides in the seaside community of Dorset, England. She specializes in mystical, surreal-like, fantasy paintings. [Bio on Josephine Wall site]

Notes: Three inseparable sisters – daughters of Zeus, representing all that is noble, beautiful and pure, keep watch from above. Aglaia (brightness) symbolised by brightly coloured butterflies, Euphrosyne (joyfulness) symbolised by the joyful sound of birdsong, and Thalia (bloom) symbolised by a headdress of flowers.

Above all they were goddesses, noble of grace, and a beauty which enchants. Their hair and faces shine with radiant beauty, looking down from Mount Olympus. [Josephine Wall UK site]

Puzzle: Spring Concerto


Size: 500 pieces, 2 missing
Dimensions: 45.72cm x 35.56cm
Photographer: Dietrich Leis
Producer:  E&L Corporation
Notes: Dianne Dietrich Leis, photographing professionally since 1977, began her career running the family commercial studio in Phoenix. In that capacity she did weddings, portraits, and commercial assignments. She continues the family tradition of landscape and travel photography. Her photo shoots in Europe, Mexico, and Costa Rica have broadened the scope of the collection. In addition, Dianne enjoys still life photography and contributes to several craft and interior design books. [Bio at Dietrich Leis Photo site]