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New England Gardening

Where to go in winter to enjoy blooms?

13 years ago

Now that the leaves have finally fallen off my apricot trees (my true indicator of end of autumn), I already miss these past colorful days here in New England. So where can I travel to (preferably driving) in the USA in December and January, to see wonderful blooming gardens?

Carol

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Comments (7)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
13 years ago
Logee's
arbo_retum
13 years ago
botanical gardens of major cities- nyc, brooklyn, chicago, d.c.,montreal, seattle, st. louis.... plus Longwood Gardens(huge) in kennett sq PA.
otherwise cal and fla and new orl.
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It was 60 degrees here this morning and I worked in the garden for couple of hours. First, I picked okra and blackeyed peas, having already picked tomatoes for a long time last night. I had to use the ladder to get all of the Tess's Land Race Currant tomatoes because that cage is 8' tall, and the plant has gone all the way to the top of it and then back down again. Today I am going to dehydrate small tomatoes and make salsa with the large ones, but I did spend time weeding and mulching the fall veggies until we got the phone call to come see the cougar in the trap. It wasn't a cougar...but that's a story on a different thread. I do not want an early freeze....no, no, no, no, no! This is the first year in ages we've had enough moisture in July and August to have a good fall garden and I want for it to last a while. I do have some floating row cover frost blankets that give 8 degrees of protection, so I might be able to get some plants through the first cold night or two. Then, if we had a few weeks of Indian Summer, we'd still get production. I can't believe some of you had temps in the 40s! That's just crazy. The Farmer's Almanac does forecast a very cold winter, but I haven't seen the Old Farmer's Almanac yet....and the NWS forecasts an El Nino, so that should mean a lot of rain beginning around December. I was cold enough at 60...not ready for 40-something, so y'all keep that cold stuff up there! Dawn
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pixie_lou
13 years ago
Close to home, the courtyard at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is always gorgeous.

Though it isn't really in bloom, Tower Hill Botanic Garden is worth a winter trip.
carol6ma_7ari
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, cold-hardy NE'ers. The Logee's trip could be a day trip. And although the various greenhouses sound nice and warm for a bitter day in January, I was thinking more on the lines of driving 2 days, walking around gardens outdoors, with blooms present. Camellias in SC? Anything in FL? (I don't want to fly because of the choice between xrays and gropes).

Carol
ginny12
13 years ago
In winter, there's no place within two days' driving distance of New England that has outdoor gardens in bloom, unless you are Mario Andretti. I have lived in South Carolina and it is cold in winter, tho not like here. But no gardens in full bloom. Think ice storms.

If you're willing to drive to Florida, especially the warmer parts, that takes most people more than two days.

I fly a lot and have refused the X-rays because of health and modesty concerns. The pat-down is not as bad as the grisly descriptions. It's quick and efficient. And well worth the rewards of safe travel to so many wonderful destinations.
carol6ma_7ari
Original Author
13 years ago
THanks, Ginny; you're right: Florida is 3 days driving. But having experienced the "enhanced" body pat-down twice last month at Boston and Oakland CA airports) and found it distasteful in the extreme (the officer's plastic-gloved hand goes all the way up one's leg not only to the top of the leg-genital joint, but also touches private parts "quickly and efficiently" at the top, with the side of her hand), I am now opting out of flying, until they change their search methods. If they had caught a terrorist or found explosives this way, I'd be inclined to tolerate it. But all the TSA news statistics shows they are only finding an occasional small knife or some other item the passenger overlooked in packing.

So hello US Route 95!

Carol
mskee
13 years ago
I second the vote for Logee's. I make a trip there every February, when I really need a dose of summer. Being immersed in those greenhouses is a little bit of heaven, unlike any other greenhouse that I have been to. They have a century old lemon tree growing out of the dirt floor, among lots of other visual and olfactory treats there! They also sell little plants, for hefty prices, but, I always end up buying a couple each year...just to nurse them along until spring!

Emily

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