Best / most charming place(s) to visit in New England?
IdaClaire
4 years ago
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IdaClaire
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agojojoco
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Visiting S.F. best nurseries and gardens, please
Comments (4)After looking at the FAQ list, I notice that one newer nursery in San Francisco is not listed, and I'd highly recommend it: Flora Grubb Nursery in the Bayview District. It combines superb mix of plants, including palms and indoor plants, a book shop with a good selection, as well as a coffee shop, and is so popular that it has become a destination for people who come just to see what's new. I would second the recommendation for the San Francisco Botanic Garden(formerly known as Strybing), and would also recommend getting down to visit the University of California at Santa Cruz Botanic Garden, as the winter blooming South African and Australian sections will be in peak bloom. The UC Berkeley Botanic Garden is also well worth a visit. For smaller sized plants that will be easier to lug home with you, do make a visit to Annie's Annuals Nursery out in Richmond, she has an amazing inventory of all kinds of plants, mostly 4 inch size. The Dry Garden Nursery here in Oakland is also always worth a visit, as an example of another nursery that has one of a kind plants from all over. If you are into California native plants, be sure to check out the Tilden Botanic Garden here in the Berkeley Hills, along with the UC Berkeley Botanic Garden, which also has an on-site gift store and small nursery....See MoreReturning from New England visit...
Comments (12)I moved back to Upstate NY last Labor Day and let me tell you how much I love being back here. There's no forest fires every May, no hurricanes, no drought that lasts 5 months... I'm afraid that was part of the cycle of the seasons that I never got used to in the last 5 years I spent in Florida. And I loved living in Tampa for two years and Palm Bay for 3, but then I'd pick up Coastal Living magazine and see the pictures of the coastline in the Northeast and the Pacific and my jaw would drop. Now I have all of that here in the Finger Lakes area, Lake Ontario, and the Thousand Islands. Autumn was SPECTACULAR all over again, winter became a good excuse to linger inside and hang out with friends and family, and when spring came it was like a miracle! And everything is so LUSH after such a bleak period that it opens your eyes to the wonder of it all! But boy do I miss walking Fort De Soto, Captiva Island, Melbourne Beach, Sebastian Inlet and the manatees, Blue Springs State Park, Kelly Park...working at Rock City Gardens, listening to Pastor Mark at Calvary Chapel Melbourne...and being in the choir...waking up in January and being able to walk out in shorts or jeans and a t-shirt... the bougainvillea, the plumeria, all of my orchids and succulents in hanging baskets... So count your blessings wherever you are :) I'm glad I made the most of those 5 years in FL!...See MorePlease Help. Best place to live/garden in New England?
Comments (67)As a person who grew up in Stonington, CT, if you choose one of the more popular tourist spots as your home, plan on it being overrun with tourists from May to September. It's kind of depressing. You wait all winter for the nice weather, and then when it comes, you can't get around easily. Beach traffic is another thing. If you end up in RI, plan on knowing alternate routes to places in the summer. Sounds like you're looking for more of the inland rustic places, so that's probably not a factor for you. As a gardener, I don't know if you'd want to factor zone into your choice. I currently live in Milford, CT. I'm near the sound and am usually putting in my vegetables and tending to my garden a good 3 weeks before some of the folks in the inland cooler areas. As far as CT towns go, I've lived in the following ones. Stonington - beautiful town, big time New England charm, salaries do not keep up with home prices, about a 15 minute drive to get to shopping, and it's crowed with tourists in the summer Bethel - (up by Brookfield/Danbury area) Very nice rural town, plenty of shopping just around the corner, but you're pretty much in NY. The stores carry Yankees and Giants stuff. Stamford - If you like traffic, lots of ordinances, and a hectic lifestyle, this is the town for you. Plainfield - Deliverance country. Very quiet and a lot of house and land for your buck, but you're far from everything. They don't call it the quiet corner for nothing. I like the Litchfield hills area for visiting, but again there's not enough shopping around there for me. It's beautiful in the fall and close to plenty of good skiing, but I consider it a visit place rather than a live there place. I'm actually liking Milford despite it being a little south of the Williams/Dimagio line. The town is zoned in a way that most the residential areas are separate from the shopping areas. I'm on a nice quiet street, but only 5 minutes from 2 major highways and all the shopping I could ask for. The people are nice, but again it's affluent folks mixed in with blue collar folks who park their cars on their front lawns. It's also on the sound and has very nice beaches. It may eventually turn into a Fairfield county suitcase type of town, but so far it's retaining a New England feel. I went to college in NH. It was just way too slow for me. There was nothing but deer and snow where I was. I haven't spent much time in VT or ME. I've always liked Massachusetts, but some of the towns have since lost their industry and many are shells of their former selves. The mill towns in particular are still fighting to stay afloat. I like the area near Foxborogh. There are a lot of very nice towns around their that have retained their New England charm, but still have a large city not too far away for jobs. By the way, Mets fans are perfectly welcome We've got no problems with them....See MoreNew England Garden Book and I'm New
Comments (21)Hi Sharon, Just wanted to add another welcome to New England. My mom lived in Peabody until last year, and I used to live in Peabody, but that was another lifetime ago. It's a nice town. Now I live a little further south and west of you. You will get snow. My mom always used to get snow whenever we did, just a little less, because of your proximity to the coast. I grew up here, but I did buy the Northeast Gardening book by Sunset. I guess it's an ok book, I don't know why I bought it. A compulsion to buy books, I guess. :-) There is nothing like actual experience, and I have gardened and lived here all my life, so I can't really say if the info in there will be useful to someone from Calif. But just wanted to let you know that there is a Sunset gardening book for the Northeast, and it's a big thick book. Besides all the other stuff people have mentioned, I would recommend that you get a good book about New England wildflowers, if that interests you. (I have one, but unfortunately I can't put my hands on it right this second, so I can't tell you the title, but I'll keep looking for it) There are a lot of wildflowers and spring ephemerals that show up briefly in the spring along with the early bulbs that help make spring a joy after all the cold and snow. You don't want to pull one thinking it's a weed. Some ARE weeds, but others like bloodroot and jack-in-the-pulpit, are great to have. If I were you I would wait to order bulbs and see what you may already have in the spring. All the foliage from daffs and tulips and crocuses has died back, so like others have said, you may not know what else you have. Oh BTW, the fall foliage is a real treat. Just wait a few weeks. You don't have to go anywhere special to see it. Just drive or walk anywhere and you will see some gorgeous fall colors. Keep coming here to GW too, it will keep you sane in the winter. Alison...See MoreIdaClaire
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