OUR WALK AT GREEN SPRING GARDENS 4-4-26

Perhaps it's just as well I didn't go to the garden center to pick up plants yet. We had a freeze warning last night. That is still on our to-do list but right now the weather has gone from very warm to downright chilly.

In the meantime, we visited the garden on April 4th. We like this area because it's nice and flat. We not only were looking forward to a little exercise, but I wanted to see the tulips before they started to disappear. 

Also, my head was turned skywards. I focused on a few clouds over the center green area. 

They were incredible and I enjoy sky watching while sitting on a park bench.

There were a few people walking around and we noticed a group of young men sitting on the grassy area. On closer inspection they were playing cards. There was a lot of laughter, and that was very nice to hear. This was on the Saturday, no work for them that day. They were young and it was a good time to get together with friends and have some fun.

The tulips were putting on quite a show.

Here is the Moon Gate I like. I have seen them before on our travels while visiting other gardens. It was a very happy day when we saw this one being built. It will be two years ago this coming August that we saw its beginnings. They are filling the flower beds very nicely. They should be a sight to behold this summer.

This beauty had just walked through it with its humans after they had stopped to take photos.

And I have to admit, I fell in love with the dress the lady was wearing. 

Sometimes it can be a fashion show at the garden. A memory: there was a time back in my younger years that I wanted to be a fashion designer. I have always had an interest in clothing, even those from another era. I know of someone who works in the costume department at a theater. I never in my wildest dreams thought such an opportunity would be open to me in my small town back in the day. If I knew then what I know now, I would have explored the idea more closely. Usually, I am concentrating on walking but this time I was sitting quietly on one of the benches when the couple and their pup came into view. There are videos that I look at online every now and again, where costumes are shown not only from this country but others. I love to settle down and watch them, especially those showing traditional clothing going as far back as the middle-ages, and even further. I have favorite times for fashion, the 20s to the 40s, but then I see another era and I love the Victorian. I could go on. What do you think of her dress? Do you like it? 

I was very happy to see a few daffodils. The ones in our neighborhood have all gone.

I didn't realize peonies would be blooming already.

The garden is slowly coming back to life after its winter rest.

I will finish here as I have a few things I need to get done but will have more photos to share soon.

Thanks for looking and

enjoy your day.

GREEN SPRING GARDENS - LATEST TRIP ON 2-26-25 - PART 2

This is the road sign where we turn, and it is a short drive to reach the entrance at the end of the road.

One of the first photos taken is of the Witch hazel (botanical name Hamamelis virginiana. Other names are American witch-hazel, Striped alder, Tobacco-wood, Spotted alder, Water-witch, Snapping Hazelnut, Winterbloom and Witchhazel Witch-hazel. 

This is the plant that was used in the 20th century for locating water sources. You can read more about that here towards the end of the article. Added note on 3-7-25 at 1.46 p.m. I add a photo below I borrowed from the previous website, of a map showing where witch hazel grows in the USA.

I am looking forward to seeing the planting beds bloom around the Moon Gate.

It was a very nice surprise to see the Snowdrops blooming. Their botanical name is Galanthus nivalis and other common names are Common snowdrop, Fair maids of February, Little sister of the snows, Purification flower, Candlemas bells, Candlemas lily and Common bells. These flowers have been noted throughout history, with references going as far back as the fourth century.

One last photo of a little dog who was enjoying all the smells as he scurried along. I wasn't fast enough to get a front view, but he was a cute little dog.

That's all from this visit to the garden.

GREEN SPRING GARDENS ON 11-21-24

On this trip to the garden, I was looking forward to seeing what they had done around the Moon Gate but it's a bit late in the year for doing too much. I did notice they had dug a large bedding area that's not in view. It would be on the left of the gate. I am standing next to the bed as I take the photo and will be eager to see what they plant next growing season.

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The bush where I took photos of the chipmunks enjoying themselves last September, had been completely cut back. You can see my chipmunk post here if you would like a reminder, or if you haven't seen it before. Those chipmunks are so cute and were having a great time tucking into the flower buds. This was one of my favorite photos from that post.

Here's another shot of those beautiful berries I shared here.

It wasn't only those berries that took my interest that day. I like looking at the old leaves on the ground. This was a white oak leaf.

The Lark daisies were still blooming. I am leaving links where you can find more information. This one has a tiny visitor.

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Next is a Treasure flower...

and Narrow leaf zinnia.

That's all for today. I didn't take too many photos on this last trip. Everything was slowly going to sleep for the winter months.

Thanks for looking today, and I hope you have a great day.

MORE PHOTOS OF THE MOON GATE

 Another photo of the old house taken by Gregg, with one part of the Moon Gate off on the side. This house always seems to make an appearance in my posts from Green Spring Gardens. I love this old home with its green shutters and door, and its pretty garden bed always full of flowers in the front.

They had done a lot of landscaping on the other side. There were a lot of bare patches where the installation had been done, but I'm sure this will all be taken care of soon. I think the pathway's surface was also temporary...

...as through the gate it was all bricked in.  

I liked this circular area with the long, curved metal benches on each side. We couldn't make use of them as there had been a downpour but there will be other opportunities.

We had a nice surprise when we walked through and started looking at the flowers. I saw some rustling about four feet off the ground next to the bench on the right-hand side. More on our little critter in another post.

I realized that this area was one we had walked by on previous visits. Everything had grown tall and lush. 

Below there is a nice message and the names of those who made this Moon Gate possible. Two more people I have to thank. "For Love of Nature!" I'll venture to say that all of us who come to this garden feel the same way. And thank you Arlene and Barry for this lovely addition. I very much appreciate your generosity of spirit.

Another short post today but more photos soon.

Thanks for following along 

and I hope you have a great day.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - THE MOON GATE AT GREEN SPRING GARDENS

 

This is half of Gregg’s photo above, taken from the other side of the Moon Gate, a preview of more photos to come on Tuesday.  I like how he framed the house. He has such a good eye for these things. We weren’t there for very long but could see that it had been finished and flowers and fauna planted. It looked lovely! I am still hobbling and could only manage 20 minutes, if that. There was seating but we discovered it had rained quite hard and all benches were drenched (we had no rain at all getting there, so it was a surprise to see everything so wet). Still, at least we got there and what a treat it was. The garden staff have done a beautiful job indeed. 

You can click here to see my posts on this Moon Gate.

I will be catching up with you over the next few days. I am eager to visit and see all your happenings. 

Happy Sunday everyone. Have a great day!

A NEW ADDITION TO GREEN SPRING GARDENS

I start with a view of the old house that belonged to the owners who donated this land to the Fairfax County Park Authority, with the wish for it to remain a park. We owe them a great deal of thanks. I never fail to take a photo of the house, and that incredible blue sky was too good an opportunity to pass up. If you go to this link you can read a short history, and also see an old photo of how the place used to look many years ago. 

I forgot to share my photos from our last trip to Green Spring Gardens, when we visited the first week in July. The bees were busy collecting pollen. This one was enjoying the Bee Balm.

We were walking along our usual path, and this time I noticed something on our right. A very unusual sight as in all the years we have visited, this is the first time we have seen any kind of construction. We could see something behind the chain link fence... 

and much to my delight and on closer inspection, saw that it was a stone moon gate.

I have seen them before in other gardens on our travels but never thought we would have one closer to home. You can read about them here. Apparently, they originated in China. There's a gallery of them if you scroll down. It was interesting for me to find out that there are many in Bermuda. I read that "Moon gates were incorporated into the architecture of Bermuda in the late 19th century, around the same time that the British territory began importing Easter lily bulbs from Japan for cultivation. Bermudan moon gates are slightly different from the original Chinese designs, as they are often left freestanding or attached to a low wall. In Bermuda it is regarded as good luck for newlyweds to step through the gate."

I am looking forward to going back to the garden to see how it has progressed. 

You can click here to see all my posts on this Moon Gate. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope your week is going well.