We discovered garden globes while traveling in Munich, Germany in 1991.

I fell in love with the bright colors of the shiny glass Gartenkugeln-Rosenkugeln that were merrily staked in flower beds and planter boxes throughout Bavaria.

Our friends took us to a little shop in the village of Wolfratshausen where they had been made since the 1770's. The art of making garden globes has a long history and goes back to glass blowers in the 1200's. These in the shop were 1/4 inch thick and designed to last a long time.

We carried our beautiful blue and red globes with us on our flight home. Over the years our friends from Munich would visit and bring a new garden globe. One year it was a beautiful green glass globe and another was a ceramic globe with a little frog sitting on top.

In 2003 we visited them in Munich. This time I visited my friend's parents. Her stepmother Helga was a gifted ceramic artist and her garden was filled with whimsical garden globes. It was as enchanting as a favorite fairy tale scene. Each one was so alive with personality and energy. I had never seen or felt anything like this before and was deeply moved.

A few months later we received a package from Munich and inside was a precious dragonfly garden globe. Each year it is placed at the entrance to the Center Room where we can admire it and stay close to the memories of our dear friends in Munich and particularly Helga, who passed away a few years later from Cancer.