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Five Vermont Gardens
Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 & 12 June 2019
Monday morning it was time to get to the train station in Trenton, New Jersey and board the Amtrak Vermonter for a day-long ride to Windsor-Mt Ascutney, Vermont. I have a lecture to give to the Woodstock Garden Club tomorrow, on Cottage Gardens Then and Now. With a seven and a half hour ride in each direction, clearly it cannot be managed as a day trip. Jill Helmer, who invited me, made all the arrangements and assured me that there would be gardens to see. All aboard!
Jill had planned a wonderful itinerary for me. Dinner at Simon Pearce restaurant in Queechee, then a quiet evening. Two gardens in the morning on Tuesday. Lunch at The Red Rooster Restaurant (one of four options at the Woodstock Inn and Resort) where I had a
Vermont Billings Farm grilled butter cheese sandwich on griddled sourdough bread enhanced with tomato jam and spiced bacon, accompanied by a cup of creamy tomato soup. And then it is time to arrive at the church social hall, meet several of the garden club's board members, and set up for my mid-afternoon talk.
Jill's husband George had run through the images on my flash drive the evening before, just to be sure that projector, laptop, and flash drive were properly communicating. My AV tech, Jill, handled everything quite smoothly, even zooming in on the details of several images - a nice touch. Happy to say my talk was very well received by the audience. They laughed at the right places, asked appropriate questions, and gave me a good round of applause at the end.
Another garden visit afterwards. And another on Wednesday morning before my mid-day departure. Each garden different, and uniquely wonderful. Furthermore, it was like a second glimpse of spring. In New Jersey our peonies are just about over. Here, many peonies were still in tight bud. There were the last of the tulips. And in one or two gardens the first of 'Miss Kim' lilacs were deliciously, fragrantly open.
Come for a virtual visit to the five wonderful Vermont gardens.
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