I'm on (well-earned) vacation this week. We've mixed and mingled chores with a visit to the flea market, lunch at a great new BBQ truck in Middleburgh, a shop hop in Rhinebeck where we lusted after honey at Bumble & Hive and tasted olive oils and vinegars at Pure Mountain (so that's what real balsamic vinegar tastes like!), naps on the couch, and--yesterday--a long-discussed visit to the Berkshire Botanical Garden. It's only an hour away, the drive is lush and relaxing (it helped that we left here at 8 am and it was the 4th of July), and the reward was so worth it! We could have stayed hours longer if not for the heat and humidity, and we plan to go again in the Fall. And next Spring....
The colors were alive; the air was scented with pine, whispered remnants of faded linden flowers and the perfume of daylilies. A faerie garden lured us into her shadows, we kissed in the secret room created by the draping branches of the linden, watched honeybees in the catmint, and were inspired by the vegetable gardens. We took a few photos, and invite you to glimpse the beauty of the place:
We can't wait to create a second vegetable garden using this model! They plant 8 tomatoes in a 4' x 4' bed--who knew?
I absolutely love the architectural excitement of dried allium, in this case interspersed randomly amongst the flowing daylilies.
Brazen, isn't she?
Bee balm and an unnamed friend...
Butterfly weed (not bush) will definitely factor into next year's planting, along with another honeybee fave--catmint.
One settles in to swing and ride the scented breezes to the sound of sweet chimes. Here's a video but for some odd reason the video feels creepy rather than the utterly magical experience it was.
From the Martha Stewart Cottage Garden, burgundy sorrel, a sweet plant that will be added to the Japanese maple's pot next year.
Sometimes, exotic beauty is right outside your very own door. This is a canna flower in our yard; Linda says it's the first time she ever got a flower from one!
PS....all photo credits are Linda's. Thanks, Linda!
