Favorite local garden area

I wanted to share a couple of my favorite local garden sites. These are the places I continually go to to replenish my soul. I also get a lot of ideas from these local gardens.

Mystic Seaport- They have 8 or so garden areas around the Seaport. There is a very traditional kitchen garden; a house garden including a grape arbor and fence plantings; and my favorite - a long border backing up the library building. I think they must have a greenhouse somewhere, because the variety of plants is unusual and ever-changing in this border and they must have grown them from seed. The whole place is landscaped beautifully as well, so when you are walkiing a path, or just resting, there is somrthing nice to look at. Unfortunately, I don't have any decent pictures, but I include a link with a few of the general area.

http://www.ukexpert.co.uk/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=579

Mystic River Park- My daughter's playground has the most beautiful plantings! The garden at the edge of the park is backed by old yew trees and cedars, an old Philadelphus, plus the most homongous blueberry bush I have ever seen- it is about 6 feet wide by maybe 10 feet tall. The new plantings consist of Butterfly Bushes, Lilacs and Hinoki Cypress, fronted with Caryopteris, Rosa "The Fairy", and then blue star Junipers. There are spring bulbs (like crocus and daffs) mixed in, with loads of daisies and a couple of Glossy Abelia for more structure. The other side of the park has more Glossy Abelias, dwarf Cranberry Bush Viburnums, and purple Barberries. I question the use of these in a kids park, but no one seems to ever get hurt on them. They have planted a Beech tree in the lawn which is making good progress, but is still small. It is a great place to bring kids!

Of course we have the river here, and a walk by the water is always a bonus.

Anyone else have some favorite spots they'd like to share?

I have two places that I love to visit.

The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx - http://www.nybg.org/ .- Here's a shot of my nieces - we went there for a picnic.

My favorite garden to vist is 'Bliythwold" in Bristol, RI about a 20 minute ride from where I live. It is one of the most beautiful garden in this area open to the public once a former private mansion.
I am going to a lecture with my daughter Feb. 7th on 'Native Plant Gardening" and in March about "Color in the Garden", looking forward to this.

Here's another group of shots taken in the Fall of '04 - that's my Mom in the pic

Then my favorite is the Orchid Show!!!!

My other favorite place is Clarke Botanical Garden - smaller in scale, but alot closer to where I live. http://www.clarkbotanic.org/ - My Nieces and I call it the 'Magic' Garden. Since it's so small - they get to run around on their own and I don't actually have to see them to know that they are ok.

Anitabryk2- What beautiful pictures! We are lucky to have so much in our small area of the world!

Maria I will have to check out Blythwold- it sounds lovely. It is not too far from Mystic!

The Connecticut College Arboretum is a lovely place. I too have taken my kids to the park in Mystic of which you write and it is lovely. The river on a Summer day's eve can be a treat! I have not walked aroung the Seaport's gardens, will give it a go someday.

Harkness! If you have not visited in Spring and early Summer then you are missing out. The gardens around the house have been renovated and the view to the sea is fantastic. Sometimes I have brought my 8 year old with his bike and taken my 5 year old in the jogging stroller, really frees us up. And of course you can access the small beach there, great for Spring and Fall trips. They do charge for entrance in the Summer season but the rest of the year is free.

Linda

We go to Harkness all the time! I was going to post about it next, but you beat me to it. In the spring or early summer there is a plant sale too.....

I visited Mystic 2 years ago and loved it! So quaint. Of course, I had to have the pizza. They were also having a huge antique show in the next town..I think it was Stonington. There was a food bar on the road there - fried clams, chowder - we stopped there for lunch..yummy..boy were my eyes bigger than my stomach that day!!!

Anyone else ever visit the greenhouse at Smith College in Northampton, MA? I haven't been there for a few years now, but as far as I know, it's still open to the public. They have a tropical room complete with banana trees and a koi pond and a desert room with prickly pear, cacti, etc. among other things. Lovely on a cold and blustery winter's day.

I love it! That's what's so great about going to the Orchid Show at the Botanical Garden, the feeling of being around all those plants! When I win lotto I want a conservatory and a greenhouse. Has anyone ever seen Green Card with Gerard Depardieu and Andie McDowell ? She wants this apartment because of the conservatory room - THAT'S WHAT I WANT!!!

Tower Hill Botanical Garden, outside of Worcester, MA. Well worth the visit. And the Brooklyn (NY) Botanical Garden. And in the dead of winter, when I can't take the grey weather, and messy snow/mud that haunts us - Logee's Greenhouses in Danielson, CT or the Magic Wings butterfly conservatory in Deerfield, MA. Logee's has been around forever -- dirt floors, sunken greenhouses and plants that I think are probably holding up the greenhouses themselves at this point, they're so mature. Magic Wings is a walk-in indoor garden that is a habitat/living museum for hundreds of butterflies. Very cool.

Sarah

Oh, my gosh. We went to Magic Wings with my daughter and she LOVES it! We've gone twice now in the last year. I recommend it to anyone close by.

I haven't been to Logee's at all, but I would love to go. We went to White Flower Farm last year and wasn't all that impressed. It was nice, but I guess I was expecting something bigger or more somehow. Someone had recommended it as a day trip, so I thought there would be more to it.

Ivy1 - what time of year did you go to WFF? I agree that it's not what one expects from the reputation and the catalog - but certain times of year are better than others. It's a nice place to visit if you're less than 45 minutes or so away ....

Sarah

Ivy,
My old buddies on th NE forum at that other site just came back from a well planned trip to Logee's. They were offered a 1 1/2 hour tour of the greenhouses that the group keeps on referring back to as well as they all met after the tour in Pomfret for lunch and returned to Logee's after good food and conversation to pick up their purchases. Perhaps we can keep this in mind for the future. kt

That's a great idea , Runktrun! I would love to see Logee's. I wonder when would be the best time to go?

Usually I go to nurseries with neighbors who are picking and choosing for their yards, or with my DH. I would still be buying stuff at the end and everyone would leave without me....it's the story of my life! My DH just goes away now if I'm near plants. I turn around, still talking, and he's completely disappeared! I usually find him waiting at the car, while I've been chatting up the nursery people.

That's why I go by myself...

Channel 9 (WMUR in NH) has a program called "Chronicle". A couple years ago they were at Uncanoonuc Perennials. The owner has "the chair" for the non buying spouse.

DH is very good about stopping, but there are sometimes you want to go by yourself.

Here's a place that I've been meaning to hit http://www.plantingfields.org/index2.htm

Anita, You are quite the photographer! It was nice to see mother-in-law!

Ivy & runktrun, I'd be up for Logee's too. LRush was just metioning it on the NE nursey thread.

The butterly conservatory in Deerfield, MA sounds great. I'ld love to bring my kids. Is that the big antique town?

Dave

Thanks Dave - mom says hi and that she doesn't get to see you enough!!! You are, after all, her favorite son-in-law!

These garden visitations are giving me spring fever....I'm in need of flowers...

Hey Dave - you don't bring me flowers....

Anita, If I'm her favorite, who the heck did your sisters marry????
And,... I don't bring you flowers 'cause I know you love plants!

Anita, Do you think anyone else remembers how we started this? A lot of folks must be thinking we're weird! Now me, I'm used to that.

Hope you get to see Spamalot. Oh, and thank you so much for playing with me.I really appreciate it.

Morning hun...here's your coffee.

I enjoy the playing too [I actually look forward to it]- and I seriously doubt anyone remembers...wasn't there a comment thrown in there about the 'honey' sentiment a few threads back?

Hmmm, Dave47, I think you might be thinking of Brimfield, not Deerfield. Brimfield is the one that has the huge annual antique market. It's near Sturbridge, if that helps any. On the other hand, a lot of Deerfield probably does qualify as "historic".

Just went to the greenhouses at Wellesley College a few weeks ago. Several buildings full of blooming tropicals in the middle of a NE winter - lovely! Scarlet passion flower, bird of paradise, papyrus. Open 365 and free admission, tho they love donations. Lady told me they get a lot of plants from Logee's! They also have an arboretum open during good weather.

http://www.wellesley.edu/FOH

I used to visit the Wellesley greenhouses in winter, and of course the cherry trees and the botanic garden area in spring. Does the greenhouse still have a huge fall of vining nasturtiums at one of the entrances? And yes, the cactus room and the papyrus pondlet with the big yellow not-Mandevillia flowers falling in it are the most unwintry things imaginable.

OMG -- it must be Camellia time at Planting Fields! Go, look!

McCool,
Thanks. Your right. Always wanted to check that out.

Smith has some great garden areas and Botanic gardens- and I love going to Northampton! We always eat at Sylvestres when we visit.

I wanted to tell everyone about this web site where you can pick a state name and see all the botanical and public gardens in the state. Go to ilovegardens -- http://www.ilovegardens.com/index.html

In the upper left pick your state from the list. Pretty comprehensive list of places to visit. Kind of fun -- some in my state I didn't know about!

Sue

Excellent Sedum - I found a few that I want to visit that I wasn't aware of before. Thanks

Anita

Thanks a lot, Sedum! Great site.

I found a couple I had forgotten I live near! Like The Conn. College Arboretum and the great Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, which has programs to teach kids about how to live with and respect nature. My daughter has gone to two birthday parties there. They take the kids hiking, and they also show how they rehabilitate wild animals. The kids love it!

Thanks so much for the website! I had no idea there were so many in Massachusetts.