Pittsburgh — the butt of all the jokes we Penn Staters used to tell when I attended that university — constantly surprises me. It’s a lovely city, and possibly one of the prettiest places in Pittsburgh is Phipps Conservatory. Phipps offers a visual romp of color and surprises, between lovely blooms and foliage to the glass art […]
gardens
Lovely Urban Oasis at the US National Arboretum
Dogwood Alley. I’m always excited to discover an urban oasis — a place to retreat far from the madding crowd! In fact, I spent this past Sunday morning exploring just such an oasis: the U.S. National Arboretum. The National Arboretum is a garden, a park, and a research institution, part of the USDA. Its 446 […]
Garden of Lights Celebrates the Holiday Season
This year, the Garden of Lights, Brookside Gardens’ holiday outdoor light exhibit, celebrates its 19th season as a Baltimore/Washington, DC area family holiday tradition. During just one month a year, Brookside Gardens is illuminated with more than one million dazzling colorful lights shaped into hand-crafted, original art forms of flowers, animals and other natural elements. Stroll […]
Bowmans Hill Wildflower Preserve
“There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords.” –naturalist and author, John Muir Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve is a nature preserve, botanical garden, and accredited museum located just outside of New Hope, PA, that showcases an extraordinary diversity of plants native to Pennsylvania […]
Annamarie Sculpture Garden: Exploring Art Outdoors!
“The Gateway,” by Peter King and Marni Jaime, 1995, Stonehaus Pottery. Permanent collection. Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center is located near Solomons, Maryland, where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The sculpture garden features a short walking path that meanders through the woods past a variety of sculpture, including over thirty works on […]
Enjoying the Holiday Sights at Longwood Gardens
There is something about holiday lights and decorations that beckons to the kid in us. Toy trains, Christmas ornaments, colorful lights — the Christmas season definitely speaks to my inner child. I like bright colors and shiny things, so last year I’d added seeing Longwood Gardens to my 2014 wishlist. Longwood Gardens offers everything your […]
Exploring Two Historic Estates in the Brandywine Valley
Guest blogger Julie grew up an Army brat, living in Germany and other interesting places. She recounts her memories of her childhood: My parents would take the family castle hunting on weekends and when we came back to the States it was with some trepidation that we would no longer have that immediate connection to history. Just a […]
Winterthur
Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) is one of the last of the original Wild Gardens. Downtown Abbey is one of our favorite shows, so when we learned that there’s a “Costume’s of Downton Abbey” exhibit at Winterthur (already on our list for visiting), we knew it was time to plan a day trip there. The exhibit “Costumes […]
Butterflies and Gardens: Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
I wasn’t prepared for excitement and wonder I felt in the butterfly garden. And if I hadn’t suddenly realized that our staying in the garden longer was preventing some folks from entering, I would have stayed a lot longer! So even though butterflies are really just (creepy) bugs with gorgeous fairy wings, it was a […]
Brookside Gardens: Oasis in Suburbia
I decided to write this blog as a Mother’s Day special — for all those looking for a lovely place to bring their mums! An overcast Saturday afternoon found us heading over to check out Brookside Gardens, in Wheaton, MD; I had my new macro lens in hand and was eager to experiment. Thunder bumper […]
A Happy Visit: Longwood Gardens
He who plants a garden plants happiness, according to an old Chinese proverb. Both Pierre S. du Pont and his wife Lilian planted a lot of happiness, as they planned and developed their estate, Longwood Gardens. I felt so very spoiled walking through the gardens. From the visitors center we turned right, into the formal Idea […]