* I already mentioned the bathrooms down the hall and around the corner, twin beds with plastic covered mattresses and very flat pillows, and coffee in the dining hall-- if we could get in there, needed a swipe card, oops.
First, (after the coffee) we all piled into a Diner for breakfast. I had the heaping load of maple sugar in the form of French Toast made with Challah bread -and an egg for some much needed protein. Tasted great-- will not have a craving for French Toast for years to come!
Our first stop for Wednesday is Brookside Gardens. After traveling through more DC traffic, we finally got there. Once again a wonderful garden. We were limited time-wise as the afternoon stop was one that required lots of time. Be sure to check the link and then go to the virtual tour page...more information on the different gardens.
On to Brookside. I apologize for some of the photos for this garden...it was a bright and sunny morning. The colors were a bit washed out but I do want to share some. There some formal beds with the structure of the walls and symmetry from one side to the other. The color focus in this garden was burgundies and purples-- very nice.
This garden is blues, purples and silvers.
Here the dominate color was orange.. really popped in the bright sunlight.
As time was limited, I opted to check out the roses next....they had a nice selection of many of the award winners from years past.
As I had more time, I took the outer path back up to the Visitor Center. Along the way there were wonderful plantings of various sized and shaped hostas.
I took this pathway to check out a maple with which I was unfamiliar. Snakebark Maple is the common name. Surprisingly I found two with said common name. One was Acer davidii and the other was Acer tegmentosum. Pictured here is the Acer tegmentosum...an excellent reminder that common names are not a good indicator of what plant is what.
In reviewing my notes I found an interesting Pieris japonica 'Bert Chandler' the new growth is white. Also both at Meadowlark and Brookside there was an interesting tree with very fringy foliage, similar to a salt cedar. Taxodium ascendens 'Prairie Sentinel' or Pond Cypress. Check the link for a nice photo of the foliage.
Tomorrow I will be sharing our visit to Hillwood, the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post. Stay tuned!!
Very neat maples. I have never heard of it before. Your dorm sounds a bit like Army barracks:) Not my kind of fun at all. And oh my, do those French toast ever sound good!
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, yes -- it was sort of like Army barracks... minimalist digs. It was great French Toast, couldn't finish it...so rich.
ReplyDeleteJanet, have you been having spam comments? Is that why the moderation? I don't remember it before on your blog. Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteYes, I had some spam stuff on a post when I got back from my trip. May change it to word verification --haven't decided.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to travel with you via your blog and visit gardens, my favorite activity next to visiting nurseries and purchasing plants. I smiled about your plant purchases. We carried a trunkload of daylilies home from California once.
ReplyDeleteDonna
Thanks Donna. Visiting a garden and a nursery is my idea of a perfect activity-- see it in the setting and then find out what you can buy to duplicate it. A trunkload of daylilies? Too funny!
ReplyDeleteJanet~~ What a great trip. It's always fun to learn about new plants.
ReplyDeleteHi Janet! Aren't tours the most fun we can have besides gardening and visiting a great nursery! I love digital cameras they are a great aid in recalling plants we we get home! gail
ReplyDeleteThrilled me that you recognized West Point. You know we were AF and there. We were at USAFA too. I think you and I talked about that. Some day I will tell that story.
ReplyDeleteI do love the use of blue in this garden. It's very cool--like in a good cold and not cool like groovy. That really is a hard color scheme to pull off.
Hi Gail, I really like the tours. They are especially nice when you go with people who know more about plants than you do....learn a lot! Between my camera and my notebook, I have lots to review.
ReplyDeleteAnna, Hi! know we chatted a little about WP, though I forgot about what you said the job was..?
Blues and silvers are cooling in a bright garden, wish the photo showed it better.
Oops, sorry Grace, didn't mean to leave you out. I DO love learning about new latns or the names of ones that I have seen before.
ReplyDelete