South of San Francisco in the town of Woodside, one can step back in time to an earlier era of refinement and luxury. Filoli Gardens is a place where one can imagine life of a bygone era. Visitors can explore a large mansion built in 1917 in which only two families have lived. They can also explore the beautiful gardens around the home. Of course none of this comes free, but if one is willing to pay the price, they…
Continue Reading “Exploring the Filoli Gardens and Half Moon Bay Cliffs”
The weather forecast for Wednesday had predicted gloomy weather, but much to our surprise we woke up to mostly clear skies and a sunny outlook. After eating breakfast at our hotel, we were readyfor the day. We would travel back south, but be in more of the central part of the island ending up in Coupeville. Our first destination was South Whidbey State Park. While this park is on the water’s edge, the focus of the park is more hiking…
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Tuesday it was time to leave Belgium and head to Amsterdam for the main purpose of our journey, seeing the famous Dutch tulips in the Keukenhof Gardens. However, first we had to get there. We traveled by train. We planned a route that was to have two transfers of trains. Of course things happen. As our first train headed towards Antwerp, it was delayed a few stops before Antwerp. We didn’t know why as we couldn’t understand the explanation. Then…
Continue Reading “Tulip Time at the Netherland’s Keukenhof Gardens”
Santa Barbara sits along the California coast north of Los Angeles. Many people think of it as a posh beach town. However, its Mediterranean climate makes it a unique place to garden. While it is fairly warm year round, it is also somewhat dry. This makes it suitable for a wide variety of plants. There are three gardens that I have enjoyed while visiting Santa Barbara. The first is the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in the foothills above the Santa…
Thursday we were ready to travel north again to Hanalei. After being thwarted on Tuesday, we now knew when the highway would be open. We had everything timed out, and we were ready to go. Our first stop of the day was the Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens (Lands by the Sea). Like many gardens, this one began as a private garden. Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kauai in the late 1970’s and began to create a garden. As…
Continue Reading “Enjoying a Garden, a Lighthouse, and Hanalei Beach”
During COVID when many travel opportunities shut down, visiting gardens remained possible. Most years I might only visit a garden two or three times a year. Not during COVID. With so many other sites and activities shut down, gardens became a tranquil place to visit. The Lakewold Gardens in Tacoma, Washington was one of our options. Like many other gardens in the Puget Sound area, this garden started out as a personal garden which later became a public garden. The…
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If you are in need of a quiet place in the midst of our chaotic world today, visit a garden. In a previous post I suggested three gardens to visit. Today I am suggesting just one, The Bloedel Reserve which USA Today recently named one of the 10 best botanical gardens in the U.S. The Bloedel Reserve is located at the northern end of Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound. This 150 acre garden and forest area was originally the home…
The state of Washington’s nickname is the Evergreen State. Many people think it rains here all the time. That’s not really true. We don’t have a lot of heavy rains, but many gray days with a light rain. Summers, however, can be quite beautiful and warm. In fact this is a perfect climate to grow many wonderful plants, and gardening is a popular activity in the Puget Sound region. Garden enthusiasts can find a number of gardens in the Seattle…
