Gardens of Greater Boston Tour - Day 1

When Geo and I heard that Charlie Nardozzi was leading a garden tour, and when we saw the itinerary, we signed up. For three days we traveled with about fifty other people to some very remarkable horticultural sites just a few hours from home.

This was our first stop: 

If you've ever heard of "Proven Winners" plants, this is where they're from. Pleasant View encompasses about 28 acres of greenhouses and outdoor plant production areas. The "mother stock" for the plants comes from Costa Rica. We were given a guided tour of the Proven Winners display.

(I'm not a big fan of ornamental grasses, but I have to admit I do like the red color of this one.)

There were lots of ideas here for the home garden. Even the more common flowers looked spectacular.

There were displays with combinations that work well together.

Then it was on to Portsmouth, NH and Strawberry Banke.

This area dates back to the 1600's. There is ongoing restoration of homes taking place here, with an historic village to tour. 

Although there are examples of gardens across the centuries, what I really enjoyed seeing were the recreated interiors of the homes, furnished as they may have been during the mid-1800's to mid-1900's.

 

This type of cookstove was the first of its kind. Before this, cooking was done on an open hearth. We were told it took people time to adjust to this "new technology."

The most recent time period represented was the 1950's.

In a grocery store illustrating the 1940's, I saw items on the shelves that I actually recall from the 50's!

Oh, yes, the gardens...

This could be a 1940's Victory Garden:

Here's an entrance to a more formal garden:

And here's a view of that garden from the second floor window of the home:

And all of this was only the first day of our tour!