Thursday, April 25, 2019

OATLANDS PLANTATION, LEESBURG, VIRGINIA


My post today is from Oatlands Plantation. The last time we visited was in May 2016.  As we wanted to go for a ride in the countryside and go for a walk at the same time, we stopped at the plantation.  The grounds are ideal for getting our exercise. If you would like to learn more, you can click on its name in red lettering above.  (Any red lettering throughout any of my posts is a link to more information.)
We had intended to go on a tour of the house, but the last tour of the day had already started.  No matter, we had a lovely time in the open air, which was our intended purpose anyhow.  The weather was glorious!  The first photo of the house is the front view.  It is hard to get a good photo head on as it has a very large tree obstructing the view.  The second photo is taken of the back, and the third is a side view as we walk along the narrow, pebbly road back to our car. 
The first few lines on its history says: "In 1798 a young bachelor named George Carter inherited 3,408 acres of prime Loudoun County, Virginia farmland.  Carter was a descendant of one of Virginia's first families."  More of the Carter history at Oatlands can be found here.  

In 1903 it was bought by William Corcoran Eustis and his wife Edith Livingston Morton.  Their history can be found here.
I have been looking forward to Spring for many reasons.  One is to see the Dogwoods bloom again.  This beauty is the State Flower of Virginia.  I enjoyed reading about it at this link, and I enjoyed taking photos.
Wild Violets are everywhere you walk.  It looked like the grass was blooming purple.
They made a pretty carpet effect on the lawn but not everyone wants them in their garden, from what I read.  The wild ones spread through underground rhizomes. Here is a link you can read about them.
We stopped off at the Visitor Center first.  It is called the Carriage House.

Below, if you enlarge the photo, you will be able to read a few things about the Eustis family.

The pathway leading up to the center is made of bricks engraved with people's names and sometimes organizations.
You enter and exit out of the gift shop.  Clever people, they know how to throw out that hook.  The lady behind the counter was very friendly and started chatting immediately.  She answered our questions about the plantation and gave us an information flyer.  We had arrived later in the day and the place was very quiet.  We felt we had the whole grounds to ourselves, apart from a very small group of well-behaved teenagers who were already heading out.  There was also one other couple around our age who headed in the opposite direction, no doubt enjoying their alone time feeling just as we were.

I do love browsing around these gift shops, and they often sell items I don't see in other stores.   I did see this small vase, very simple in design.  In the shop I hummed and hawed in front of it, imagining the colorful flowers that would set it off beautifully.  The place for its new setting already chosen, in my head, on the kitchen table.  After browsing around other corners - it wasn't a large gift shop - I knew the vase would be going home, along with a couple of other trinkets intended for birthday people.  Gregg popped back to the car parked a short distance away, deposited the package in the trunk, and we continued our walk.
The Bleeding Hearts were planted in a flower bed in front of the Carriage House.
The Redbud Trees were also blooming.
"There's nothing more beautiful than watching trees getting dressed up for Spring and Summer."
~Charmain J. Forde~
 I love looking at those pretty blooms.  I read that early settlers found the blossoms of the redbud a delicious addition to their salads.  Early folk healers used the bark to treat common maladies and sometimes even leukemia.  Many Native Americans chose the wood of the California redbud for their bows.  I won't be trying redbuds in my salad any time soon, or trying their healing properties, or making any bows, but I did find this all very interesting.  Those old-age cures seem to be making a come-back don't they and ingenuity is the mother of invention, especially so in those days?  I am always impressed how our forefathers made-do with what little they had, and shake my head in wonderment.
This is where I will end today's post.  Just like every time we visit anywhere, I have at least one more post to share but will leave that until next time.

Good to be up and running.  I truly was surprised, and grateful, getting my computer fixed so quickly.  Once again, thank you so much for the support and for visiting my blog.  Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.



43 comments:

  1. Hello, the plantation is beautiful. Lovely trees and blossoms. The Bleeding Hearts are a favorite of mine. Looks like a beautiful place for a walk. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you Eileen, enjoy the rest of your week :)

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  2. A lovely post.
    What a fabulous place to walk around, especially in the Spring. The flowers and blooms are amazing.
    I do like the small vase you purchased, I can just picture a lovely bunch of flowers in it.

    All the best Jan

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    1. It was a lovely place Jan, thank you and all the best to you too :)

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  3. Such wonderful shots and energy, D!

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  4. Love those gardens. Such a stylish house - but such a big one too.

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  5. The computer looks fine, the photos are so beautiful! What a magnificent mansion.

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    1. It's still ticking along Christine, and I am still keeping my fingers crossed :) Thank you, glad you enjoyed my post.

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  6. Oatlands is a wonderful place to walk around as your lovely photos show us! I enjoyed the redbud back story. I'd never heard that before! Your pretty vase is going to look lovely full of blossoms! I agree about gift shops being great places to find special gifts for others and ourselves. I enjoyed seeing Oatlands again, thank you Denise!

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    1. I have yet to fill my vase with flowers but I'll share a photo soon. Glad you enjoyed Oatlands Martha Ellen, thank you :)

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  7. What beauty everywhere around these grounds! I did not know this info about Redbuds, very interesting! Gorgeous Bleeding Hearts. I look forward to seeing where you put the vase, and what is now in it! It is lovely.

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    1. Thanks Ginny, flowers will be in the vase soon :)

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  8. What a great place. I love the old home, and your new vase, it is very simple and handsome. I am not sure that I have ever seen bleeding heart blooms before. I love redbuds. I am not sure that I have ever seen a dogwood in bloom before.
    As usual, a well written post from you. Have a great weekend!!

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    1. Thank you for the nice compliment Yogi, much appreciated. Enjoy the rest of your week :)

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  9. Beautiful house and grounds and the flowers are fabulous. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  10. It is a long time since I had bleeding hearts in the garden. Wondering now what happened to them. I wold be very happy to explore this place so thanks for sharing.

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    1. Muito obrigado. Um abraço e uma boa semana pra você também :)

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  12. I can't even pick a flower favorite, they are all amazing and so beautiful. the carriage house is bigger than anything I have ever lived in. the whole plantation is just stunning.... I love redbuds and dogwood, these are wonderful

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  13. The house is beautiful, elegant and well proportioned. I expect the surrounding trees are quite old. The dogwoods are pretty. How wonderful to have carpets of wild violets growing in the grass. I did not know that the roots tend to spread. I grow my violets in a pot. Wishing you a good weekend.

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    1. Thank you, I'm always happy you enjoyed my post. Enjoy the rest of your week :)

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  14. You had a great day for this walk in terms of weather, Denise. and missing an indoor tour didn't seem to matter when you could be outdoors. yes, gift shops are always strategically located in entryways or exits and sometimes you enter a place through it and exit a place through it as well.

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    1. Weather was perfect Dorothy. More often than not they certainly are put in the right spot to draw you in.

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  15. Hi Denise,
    Certainly a beautiful old house and sitting by the images in some wonderful grounds.
    You have really captured the Spring blooms to perfection, its so good to see them.
    All the best, John

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    1. Hi John, thank you and all the best to you too :)

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  16. OMG Denise .. I can not even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this tour... The flora of historical estates is so awesome ... and really becoming a forgotten reality... I love the dogwood, and creeping violets. The bleed hearts are a favorite and it's so it so romantic that the Victorians would plant it the front of the house where the heart is. It's so wonderful to read about the family history and see visiting patrons on the bricks.... It all adds to great heritage that we must preserve and enjoy. Thaks for the friendly walk and pictures...it was delightful ... Big Hugs

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    1. Very happy you enjoyed Zaa, big hugs back to you :)

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  17. Years ago we brought home wild violets on logs we cut in the forests around our Oregon home. They showed up in our lawn every year from then on. I loved them, but our next door neighbor, who kept a lawn that looked like a golf course, was horrified. Other than her lawn obsession she was a good neighbor so I never said anything in response (just pretended we were trying to get rid of them).

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    1. Hi Sallie, that's interesting about your log full of violets. I guess it is a love/hate relationship with these pretty plants.

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  18. The weather was perfection Linda :)

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