Sal Goes to the Ukrainian Cultural Garden

I have a friend who is Ukrainian.  Life has been giving him lemons lately, so I thought it would be good for him to have a respite in the great outdoors.  Going for a walk in a lovely setting always lifts my mood, and I figured it would do the same for Fedor.  I asked him to go with Sal and me to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens -- starting with the Ukrainian Cultural Garden, of course.

For those not familiar with the Cultural Gardens, a brief description of this extraordinary place is in order.  I'm feeling lazy, though, so in lieu of writing a paragraph myself, I've pasted one from the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation website here:  "The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are located along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and the adjacent East Blvd. from St. Clair Avenue to the south in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. This string of 26 nationality gardens is unique to Cleveland, Ohio and for that matter unique to this Country and the World. Various nationalities that call Cleveland home have collaborated in development of their respective garden to memorialize and share with the World their culture and history. Thus, this unique park is a great educational tool, as well as a great place to relax, enjoy nature in the midst of a city, walk or ride a bike, see statues of significant personalities or depictions of far away lands."

I've wanted to visit these gardens for a long while, and this weekend seemed like the perfect time.  It would be a win/win.  My friend would enjoy a walk among statues of famous folks from his homeland, and I would have a person to keep me company as I posed Sal and took photos of her.  (Sal is a wonderful companion, of course, but it's always nice to have a human along, too.)

The day was very pleasant for November -- sweatshirt temperature and a little cloudy -- with lots of pretty leaves remaining on the trees.  Consulting a map of the Cultural Gardens as we drove along, we found the Ukrainian Garden without too much trouble.  I took some photos and Fedor talked a bit about the people represented by the statues there.

Sal with Voldymyr the Great

Sal with Ivan Franko

I really like this shot of the statue of Lesya Ukrainka framed by this craggy tree -- and Sal, too, of course.

As we walked and talked, it brought back memories of the summer of 2008, when I accompanied Fedor on a trip to Ukraine.  I particularly remember seeing many commemorations there of Taras Shevchenko -- a great Ukrainian patriot and poet. 

Maybe Fedor is pondering the greatness of Taras Schevchenko, or maybe he is wondering whether or not Sal is going to be blown off that high pedestal by a gust of wind.  Happily, Sal suffered no falls today!

I shot this picture of a bust of Taras Schevchenko in the National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine in Kyiv.  As a children's librarian, I have often brought Flat Stanley along when going to interesting places, which is why he is pictured with Mr. Schevchenko.

As we walked around the Ukrainian Garden, Fedor said that it was very nice, but lamented the lack of vibernums, which are a symbol of Ukraine.  He told me that Viktor Yushchenko  planted viburnums all around when he was president of Ukraine (2005-2010).  I vaguely remember hearing about the wonders of these plants on the trip to Ukraine, which is why I took the following photo at the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life there.

Real Ukrainian Vibernum

After walking around the Ukrainian Garden and taking numerous photos, a look at my phone showed that we wouldn't have time to visit any more gardens.  I was going to have to drop Fedor off and go to work.  (Time flies...!)  Stay tuned for more Cultural Garden photos, as Sal and I plan to return there very soon!