Blooms, blooms everywhere…and Virginia is no exception! If you’re looking to spy some beautiful May flowers, there are plenty of places right around the corner from Alpine Hideaway that may appeal to you. From private home gardens to a garden you can literally get lost in to a magic garden brought to life by dance, northern Virginia have lots to offer garden enthusiasts. Just to name a few…
Boxerwood is a NatureCenter and WoodlandGarden located in Lexington, and the legacy of Robert S. Munger (1911-1988), the center’s founder. The thirty acre site contains six distinct habitats and fifteen acres of mature, naturalistically planted trees and shrubs, featuring both native and unusual plant specimens.
The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is a 125-acre urban botanical preserve located on the James Madison University campus in Harrisonburg. It provides an ideal combination of naturalized botanical gardens (33 acres) and forest (92 acres), complementing each other and serving the purposes of research, teaching, and demonstration. This green space is home to a diverse ecosystem featuring native plants of the mid-Appalachians (woodland wildflowers, azaleas, and rhododendrons); a collection of non-native trees, shrubs, and bulbs (magnolias, Kousa dogwoods, hollies, daffodils, etc.); an Oak-Hickory Forest; a lowland swale; a shale barren; herb and rose gardens; a pond habitat; and a bog garden. An outdoor amphitheatre, terraced gardens, Pavilion, Monarch Way Station, and the FrancesPleckerEducationCenter further enhance your visit.
Unravel the mystery of the maze inside the Garden Maze at Luray Caverns. Rooted in myth, mazes have existed for centuries in countless forms, across many cultures around the world. They have been designed for entertainment, recreation, art, magic and meditation. At Luray Caverns, over 1,500 Dark American Arborvitae, eight feet tall and four feet wide, create a half-mile pathway enhanced with a misting fog. The twisting pathways lead past fountains and into a cave. Don’t worry, an elevated platform provides relief for those hopelessly lost!
Just one in an annual series of visits to informal local gardens in the Charlottesville area called Thru the Garden Gate Tours, Susan Tufts’ garden “Woodlands” will be open to the public on June 11th. The garden, presented as a work in progress, is maintained by the owner and provides a window into an artistic display of nature. Features include a 200 year old cabin moved from near Appomattox, hydrangea garden, stone and wood retaining walls, stone ‘waterfall’ steps, faux stream bed fern garden, rainwater irrigation system, millstone fountain, and rose garden and trellis structure for climbing roses with another water feature.
Tufts’ home is located at
2420 River Ridge Road
in Charlottesville. No reservations required. A $5 fee goes directly to the local garden club which hosts the Garden Gate Tour series.
The School of Rockbridge Ballet “The Magic Garden”
Join the School of Rockbridge Ballet for this lively and interpretive production of spring garden life on May 21-22 in Lexington. “The MagicGarden” brings to life butterflies, frogs, petunias, sunshine, fireflies, and even a spring storm in the form of dance.
If you decide to visit one or more of these gardens (or garden-themed events), please let us assist you in making plans. A stay in one of our cottages, surrounded by nature’s beautiful serenity, also makes a fine accompaniment to a trip to any of these beautiful garden spots.
Your Hosts,
Bill and Eileen Hoernlein
