America's Best Gardens

Gardening is wonderful hobby and in many ways an art form. Through careful planning and hard work a garden can bloom to be a beautiful canvas. One of the best gardening tips that I can recommend for garden improvement is to find a source of inspiration. This winter when you are planning a vacation think about visiting some inspirational gardens to help get your creative energies flowing when Spring rolls in.

During the winter months, one of the best places to visit is one of America’s first green houses. George Washington was an avid gardener ever since he chopped down his first cherry tree. Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of George Washington. The mansion is wood construction, built in neoclassical Georgian architectural style. The estate is located on the banks of the majestic Potomac River.

Mount Vernon is open seven days a week, every day of the year, including holidays and Christmas. Visitors are invited to tour the Mansion house and more than a dozen outlying buildings, including the slave quarters, kitchen, stables, and greenhouses. Stroll amidst four lovely gardens, hike the Forest Trail, and explore the George Washington: Pioneer Farmer’s site, a four-acre working farm that includes a recreation of Washington's 16-sided treading barn. George Washington worked tirelessly to expand the plantation acreage from 2,000 to over 8,000 acres! The mansion now has 21 rooms, originally only 6 rooms.

The next stop on the tour is the Biltmore Gardens… Biltmore House is a French Renaissance-inspired chateau near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1888 and 1895. It is the largest privately owned home in the United States at 175,000 square feet. You may stroll across acres of formal and informal gardens designed by America's foremost landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. From the formal beauty of the Italian Garden to America's first managed forests, Biltmore's lush landscape is a living tribute to Olmsted's genius. Our experts continually work to preserve the original vision of the gardens and grounds, including our All America Rose Garden, featuring more than 250 varieties of luscious roses.

The final stop on this tour is also an Olmsted creation: Central Park in New York City is more than just a park, it also features lovely gardens. This may be the world’s greatest urban park. New York’s Central Park was the first big project that started Frederick Law Olmsted’s career and the profession of landscape architecture in the US. It has a conservatory garden similar to a European formal garden complete with parterres, fountains and herbaceous gardens.

If you would like to know more about gardens or gardening please visit http://www.no-crank.com for gardening articles and hose reel information.