This past weekend, I had to chance to visit two small but lovely rose gardens in the Baltimore-DC area. The first was the Cylburn Arboretum near the Mt Washington suburbs. While I would venture that parts of the arboretum looked like it could use some maintenance, the small rose garden was simple yet sublime. There were about a dozen different varieties and these were in prime bloom. Unfortunately, I didn't have the sense to note down their cultivar species so these pictures will have to remain unanonymous for now. The sweet fragrance of the rose garden emanating from some of the blooms were subtle, yet wonderfully intoxicating. Certainly the bumblebees were attracted and would have given them their two-thumbs (or wings) up in approval.
The second garden was the Hillwood Estate in the Van-Ness neighborhood in Washington DC. The lavish mansion is an attraction in its own right today as part of the Smithsonian with an extensive and exquisite collection of Russian and French decorative arts of the heiress of the Post cereal empire, Majorie Merriweather Post. But coming back to the theme of roses, Mrs Post was most fond of the rose garden on the estate, even stipulating her last wishes to make this her final resting place. Ignoring this somewhat morbid piece of information, one does see the wisdom behind that decision. The varieties here of floribunda roses are just a delight to enjoy on a wonderful fall Sunday and the characteristic aromas will definitely beckon any visitor to lean forward for a sniff.
No comments:
Post a Comment