The subtlest of changes are happening during this last stretch of February. Songbirds are ramping things up a bit. Bulbs are pushing shoots through the muddy-slush covered ground. The evening sky stretches out in golds and pinks and purples well past 5 p.m.
With these exciting shifts comes my garden wanderlust. New places to see during the height of spring. My top three of the wishlist:
Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and Winterthur in Winterthur, Delaware. Willa and I may meet up with the grandparents for this trip, which makes it that much sweeter.
Agecroft Hall in Richmond, Virginia. An Elizabethan knot garden on an estate along the James River beckons. The genuine Tudor manor house was actually dismantled in England and shipped overseas to Richmond to be reassembled at its present spot. A day trip for me - so very do-able now that Willa's nap schedule has changed.
Historic Garden Week in Virginia. My first year getting to this event - I carried a two-month-old Willa around in her Moby wrap and we saw stunning Greenwood estates. Last year, the houses were in and around Free Union and Willa was on my back. This year, the gardens on the tour are tucked away in the area off of 250 West, closer to Ivy and I have a mobile, strong-willed biped on my hands. (I'll be blogging about the tours this year for Virginia Living Magazine.) Is it April yet?!
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Photo from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Gardens.
2 comments:
All my gardening buddies are mentioning Spring this week on their blogs. It definately is in the air. Our mockingbird started singing this week. And that's a good thing!
If you're going to Longwood and Winterthur - make it a weekend and take in two other gardens up there as well. Chanticleer in Wayne, PA is one of the finest gardens (public or private) I've ever visited. It is a constant source of inspiration for me and many more professional horticulturists I know. The other garden not to be missed up there in March/April is Mount Cuba. The spring ephemerals will make your knees weak :)
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