A visit to The Orchid Society

Thought you might enjoy seeing some flowers today - since the only states without any snow are Florida and Hawaii - here's some Florida sunshine.

Biltmore Estate Gardens

After taking several courses in landscape design, I was so excited to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. The gardens were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in NY, the Emerald Necklace in Boston, as well as many other public parks.

The Lodge Gate is at the entrance of the 3 mile long approach road.


The estate was built by George Washington Vanderbilt III in 1895. There are 250 rooms, 33 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, 3 kitchens, an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley.

Judy and I pose by the lion before we go in for a tour.


The views from the house are spectacular. The natural design, composed of rolling meadows and groves of poplar, beech, oak, and hickory trees, exemplifies Olmsted's "pastoral style" of landscape design. It is meant to be calm and soothing.


If you look closely you can see people on horseback, and can almost imagine a hunting party. Deer Park is 250 acres to the south and west of the house.

The gardens are located right next to the house. We loved this beautiful pergola.
The Walled Garden is planted with seasonal flowers in beds arranged in patterns similar to an Elizabethan 'knot garden'.Chrysanthemums, pansies, and ornamental grasses.

The beautiful conservatory.

Inside are tropical plants.
This beauty caught our eye - it is an Abutilon, 'Magic Lantern'

What a great trip! Check out the video below for a panoramic view of Deer Park from the house.

The Wisdom Ring - Morikami Gardens, Delray Beach, FL

I went to Morikami and listened to the audio tour for the first time. I learned that our favorte photo spot is called 'The Wisdom Ring'. It is a replica of a stone lantern (ishidoro) in Delray Beach's sister city in Japan, Miyazu, the birthplace of George Morikami.

The original Wisdom Ring (chie no wa) stands on the grounds of a temple dedicated to Monju, the Buddhist bodhisattva of wisdom. This replica was given to Morikami in 1997 by the citizens of Miyazu to commemorate the museum's 20th anniversary.

The beautiful tree next to it is a Parkinsonia aculeata, Jerusalem Thorn. Here's a picture of it in late April.

While the audio tour was interesting, it only talks about the history, and not about the plantings in the garden.

I'm looking forward to everyone coming to visit and havung their pictures taken by the Wisdom Ring!

Coastal Maine Botanical Garden – Boothbay, Maine

One of my favorite places to visit is the new Coastal Maine Botanical Garden which opened in June 2007.

One of the most beautiful areas of the garden is the Shoreland Trail with views of the Back River.

Purple monkshood, aconitum, were in full bloom, overlooking the peaceful Slater Forest Pond.

Meandering through the woods and over the wooden foot bridge, you discover the Fern Garden and in the spring, can see lots of Lady Slippers.

There‘s lots for children to do
They can build a fairy castle in the woods.

I definitely have to come back next spring and see the Rhododendron Garden in bloom. It is located on a hillside, overlooking a pond and waterfall.