Art and Culture in Houston, Texas, Part 7 Topiaries, Gardens, Temples.

ANIMAL TOPIARIES

These lovely animal topiaries are part of a garden center near home.
Topiary is the art of clipping plants to ornamental shapes. For such animal shapes, custom made wire frames form the foundation.

 

   

 Hermann Park, Houston museum district

TEMPLES

JADE BUDDHA TEMPLE: CHUNG TAI MEDITATION CENTER

 

BAPS SWAMI NARAYAN TEMPLE:

The mandir is the largest of its kind in Texas and was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Hindu scriptures. The grounds spread over 22 acres and in addition to the mandir, include a haveli and the Understanding Hinduism exhibition

 

  It consists of a 11,500-square-foot (1,070sq m), 73-foot (22 m) tall open-air temple and a 25,620-square-foot (2,380 sq m) surrounding deck.

 cost to build the temple was $7 million.[July 2004 ]

The temple materials were carved out of Italian marble and Turkish limestone by 3,000 craftsmen in various parts of India. The marble and limestone add up to 33,000 pieces.The pieces were shipped to Houston, and construction began in March 2002. 175 volunteers, including individuals in India, came to the Houston area to help build the temple. Most of the labor was donated.  The mandir was built in 28 months.

 

 The following pics are from wikipedia

MEENAKSHI TEMPLE:

 Hindu temple built of sand stone to worship Meenakshi the divine consort of Lord Shiva. There are altars to Lord Srinivasa Perumal and his divine consort and separate altars to Sri Ganesh, Murugan etc.

So, Houston is indeed a serene and beautiful place!

Next post is Fun in SanAntonio Part 1:

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