Biltmore Walled Garden and Conservatory

We were at the Biltmore on Saturday May 3rd so the flowers that were blooming well at this point were the Azaleas and the Wisteria still hadn’t lost it’s glow. This walled garden will probably be spectacular when all the roses bloom.

Today is my last day in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Katie will be driving me to the little airport for my flight to Orlando, Florida this afternoon. I won’t be escaping the heat in Florida as the forecast is calling for temps in the upper 80’s the 5 days that I’m there. I’m happy to report I was able to jam everything into my one medium suitcase for this leg of my trip. I’m leaving a small suitcase here for Katie and Andrew to use on their return trip to Seattle. I wasn’t sure I could shlep around 2 suitcases, a computer bag and camera bag around the in Orlando while I wait for Dear to arrive on a later flight than mine so I’m pleased that I can leave a suitcase here.

Can you believe it’s the fifteenth of May already?

Colorful ~ A Photo Challenge

The images I’ve chosen for the challenge are all from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. My daughter Katie and I visited the grounds on our recent SeaJack road trip from Seattle to Jacksonville the week of April 28th through May4th. We visited the Biltmore Estate on Saturday May 3rd. Soon I’ll share an entire post of our time on the grounds.

Donna’s challenge this month is Colorful. To see some colorful posts or join in the fun click on the image below.

Thank you Donna for your challenges!

Today in Jacksonville, North Carolina Katie and I are chillin in the apartment and not venturing out at all. It’s good to have a do nothing day!

Good Fences

Sometimes you just need a good meme to set your mind at ease.

This week I’m joining

The Run Around Ranch Report for Good Fences #5.

Some of these photos will look familiar to some of you but these views only come once a year and they are worth repeating. These were taken on April 7th at the Roozengaarde Display Garden in Mount Vernon, Washington state. (not to be confused with the Mt. Vernon estate of President Washington!)

If you’d like to see more tulips and tulip fields scroll down for my other posts about our trip to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in April.

Roozengaarde Display Garden

Besides the great experience of strolling through the tulip fields during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival there are garden options for touring, also. These are some shots from the Roozengarde Display Garden.

After we were done at the tulip fields and gardens we drove a short distance to the picturesque town of LaConner for lunch at Seeds Restaurant. We also did a little shopping at Re- Feather Your Nest right next store to Seeds. That’s where I bought this little sign…

This is my last post from our tulip excursion this year. It really is something that I enjoy taking the time to see every year. As I said before, if you are ever in the Seattle area in April this would be a worthwhile side trip.

Meanwhile back at ~~the ranch~~ this old house…

Suitcases line the entryway. Piles of clothes neatly folded to go into said suitcases are on our bedroom floors. Emails are exchanged back and forth about possible meet ups with blogger friends along the highways and byways. Tears pool up from the stress of planning so much for the 25 days I’ll be gone from this old house. I don’t mistake those tears for anything but what they are…my body and mind are on overload. My heart is content. I’m looking forward to the unexpected traveling mercies from my loving God along the way and the joy of new sights and sounds. I do wish I had a medium sized suitcase instead of just small and large.

What’s on your mind?

Tulips Galore

If standing in fields of tulips is a dream of yours you really need to put a trip to the state of Washington in April on your bucket list. It’s way more affordable to travel to Washington than Amsterdam. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is outstanding and never disappoints. Mount Vernon is 60 miles north of Seattle with easy access just off Interstate 5.

I’m linking up to Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper today!

I’m breaking up my tulip posts by color and I’ll also include one post with photos from the world class gardens at RoozenGaarde.

Katie out standing in her field. (Sorry couldn’t resist!) Some years I jump in my car and head to the fields all by my lonesome. It was fun to have a traveling companion this year. After we tromped around we went to lunch in the nearby town of La Conner.

More rows of different colored tulips to come soon. Here’s a hint of the colors to come.

We’ve had a very productive few days at this old house. We took Katie and Andrew’s car in to get a good overhaul so it’s safe for our road trip. We had a bathroom consultant in to give us a bid on gutting and remodeling our main floor bathroom. I managed to mow the lawn while Dear reorganized our garage to work more efficiently. We had a barbecue with Josh and Laura joining us to watch the Sounder’s Soccer game on Saturday evening. We came from behind and beat F.C. Dallas, yippee. Church on Sunday morning helped set our minds right as we get ready for Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Now we are relaxing. I’m going into this week with the following prayer…

O gracious and holy Father,
give us wisdom to perceive you,
diligence to seek you,
patience to wait for you,
eyes to behold you,
a heart to meditate on you,
and a life to proclaim you;
through the power of the Spirit
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(St. Benedict c.480-547)

This One’s For the Dogs…

The last garden we visited was our other favorite of the day even though I was skeptical since it was “all about the dogs”. I was happy to see that they had areas that humans could really enjoy, too.

This first section of the garden that all of the photos above were from seem to be the area that the dogs don’t freely roam in. The next sections of the garden had some well thought out spaces that were dog and plant friendly.

I thought this was a smart way to contain these plants in a dog friendly space.

A trio of flutists were entertaining us at this garden.

Two of our children will probably end up with pets of their own in the near future. Dear and I choose not to add them to our own home. The only pets we grew up with were parakeets and pigeons. Dear’s parakeet was named Pancho. His brother’s parakeet was named Pepino. I had a pet pigeon named Green Neck. Maybe the fact that my family had a period of time where our pet pigeons had to be sacrificed for soup that I am not fond of owning my own pet but I can appreciate other people’s pets. By the way, when us kids figured out that my parents sacrificed our pigeons for the soup we would not eat that soup in protest. We grew up with the philosophy that we have dominion over creation.

How about you…do you include pets in your household?

This is the last post from our Secret Garden Tour.

Oh no, google reader quit before I transferred all my blog links. I’m going to have to do some search and rescue this weekend. Oye…

Singing in Garden #3

When we arrived to the 3rd garden we were greeted with a musician singing songs that came easy to sing along with.

This garden also had many separate areas and paths leading here and there. There were many large yard art pieces, too.

Wednesday was a very productive day for me. I was able to clear out a lot of spaces that will be re-carpeted soon. I went up and down our attic stairs many times and also downstairs to the basement where we are storing a lot of stuff since those floors will not be replaced. My back is letting me know that I’ve done enough for a while. So happy our high school hire is mowing the lawn for me as I type and sit still. This weekend Dear is planning to replace our patio french doors.

Secret Garden Tour

In mid June my sister and I went on a Secret Garden Tour in the town of Lake Forest Park in Washington State. The gardens were numbered on a map for a self guided tour. We chose to start with garden #5 and work our way down to #1 hoping to have the least crowds at each garden.

We were curious and making guesses as to what this little cottage at the end of the path might be. What a lovely surprise to look inside.

There was a little loft with a bed in it, too, that I didn’t get a photo of. It would be nice to retreat here for a quiet get-away. This next photo is the view of the main house from the little cottage.

I caught Lana photographing the same thing I was through the looking glass. There were fun quirky things in a lot of the gardens we visited.

This was one of our favorite gardens out of the five. It was so surprising to find this lush setting coming around to the back of the home.

I’ll share more of the different types of gardens we strolled through over the course of the week.

Dear has done a lot more clearing out in this old house to get ready for the floors. All the carpeting is torn out of the family room now. This coming weekend he’ll install our new patio door. We’re loading up the living room with furniture from the family room and kitchen area so he can remove the vinyl flooring soon. My living room looks like a furniture store. I’m going to look on the bright side. I will not need to vacuum or dust till all of this is over. We’ve moved from bright sunshine to dreary skies and rain. Hoping for some good weather on the weekend since the door will be removed. What’s new with you?

Cottage Lake Gardens

A lovely Woodland Garden in Woodinville, Washington was at the end of my camera lens on Saturday morning. The garden was open for 2 hours for a plant sale.

Susie Egan has a very impressive collection of Trillium. Trilliums are endangered wildflowers that appear in the woods in the Springtime. Their native habitats are shrinking and they are becoming more rare and hard to find. Cottage Lake Gardens currently has all 48 of the world’s species of trilliums! How amazing is that!? They are working toward establishing a National Trillium Collection. Trilliums are known for having 3 flower petals and three leaves and come in many colors including white, yellow, pink, red, brown and green.

Come along with me as I walk the garden paths and snap away at things that catch my eye.

Hope you enjoyed strolling through this lovely garden with me. I’m hoping to be able to attend one of the gardens Trillium tours next Spring!

We are enjoying a stretch of sunshine and dry skies. I’ve even had to get out early in the morning to water. I planted my two Trillium starts yesterday and they are so delicate. I do hope they survive and enjoy the spot I chose for them.

Yippee! Dear will be home at noon today. While he is unpacking I’ll be packing for my trip. Hope your week is going well.

Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens

Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens was founded by Ann and Max Meerkerk in the early 1960’s. Enchanted by Whidbey Island, they began these Gardens with 13 acres.

The Meerkerks began hybridizing rhododendrons and collecting unique specimens of rhododendrons, flowering trees and conifers. They planted the first five acres, known as the “Secret Garden” as a miniature arboretum.

Before Ann passed away in 1979, she bequeathed the Gardens to the Seattle Rhododendron Society to care for as a “peaceful woodland garden with an emphasis on rhododendrons and companion plants.”

Today Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens is an independent not-for-profit organization open to the public. Fifty three acres of inspirational woodland gardens and a forest preserve offer over 5 miles of trails to breathe in the serene beauty and nature here.

We were so fortunate to be on Whidbey Island during the gardens peek blooming season. The day after the wedding we enjoyed a drive up the island to this garden and to another garden center plus some antique shops and we had some good eats, too.

Whidbey Island is a lovely getaway island in the Great Northwest. I hope you all have a chance to visit! Happy May everyone!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Gardens