The Beeldentuin Gardens and Gallery

After 10+ years here in the Netherlands, a country 3.6 times smaller than the state of Georgia, where I lived for 25 years...

...I cannot believe how many places I still know NOTHING about!

[map credit:  MyLifeElsewhere]

That was definitely what I felt when Astrid and I both heard about the Beeldentuin gardens from an artist friend who has her paintings on sale at the gallery there.  It's in Mariënheem, only 147 km/91 mi. from home! 

The Beeldentuin gallery is the house (top-right) you first see when entering and parking.

It's a 3-story antique store, actually, with everything in it for sale, including the furniture.

The entrance to the gardens is through the alley at the left, where you pay your €8.5 entrance fee.

But first, before the gardens, we did want to see our friend's paintings.

Two of them are in this collage (bottom left and right).

Lianne Sterk-van der Plaat is a Realism painter we know personally.

"Weegschaal met Groenten" (Scales with Vegetables)

is one of my favorites of hers from that day, for sale at €3250.

Now back to the gardens, where we spent most of our time that day!

It was the perfect time for the blooming wisteria...

as well as for the rhododendrons surrounding the 7.4 acres.  

Who knew there were so many varieties!

No other flowers I saw were highlighted except this clump of irises.

As you will soon see, these gardens are not so much about plants but about art/sculptures.

Since we started first at the perimeter, many of the sculptures were along the path,

some in the bushes, almost missed if you weren't looking carefully.

But then we wandered back and forth.  Where does one start at such a place!

I posted this on Facebook last week for Ascension Day, a national holiday here in the Netherlands.

Astrid calls it "Jesus' Flying Up Day," which always brings a smile.

Some of the sculptures have to be seen by their many sides/faces.

The pure joy and bliss!  Do you feel it?

There are myriad emotions evoked for me in these faces...

and poses.

Sometimes there are no words.

I'm sure I missed some but these are the glass sculptures I saw.

How about this at the lily-pad pond!

As the afternoon wore down, were were back at the wisteria entrance.

We both immediately saw our friend, Jeannette, in this sculpture!

Everything about it is so her.

But I really want to know more about this one, don't you?

Leaving where we entered, we gave ourselves a Delft Blue good-bye.

Here's another smattering, also with pieces I didn't see/capture.

We were there for only 90 minutes and have already decided we want to go back,

especially since they're changing their exhibitions frequently.

Speaking of which, they do have a Christmas exhibition.  Hmmm.

Can you imagine that at night?!