I took last week off from work to continue revising The Keeper’s Curse and to treat myself with a couple daytrips. One of those trips was a drive down to Cape Cod (the “arm” or “curled bicep” that sticks out from Massachusetts) for sightseeing, a spot of afternoon tea, and a leisurely walk around the Heritage Museum & Gardens in Sandwich. Heritage features art and automobile galleries, a vintage carousel, traveling exhibitions, and a number of outdoor play areas for kids. And the gardens! The grounds are home to thousands of flowers of all kinds: rhododendrons, daylilies, hostas, azaleas, hydrangea, and many more. Not to mention herbs, trees, and shrubs of all different varieties, and some originally from Japan, Korea, and other countries.
Mid-May may be too early for most of the blooms, but there’s still so much to see at Heritage. I spent almost 3 hours there, walking its nature trails, taking pictures, and simply enjoying the peace and quiet and being in the moment. I already know I want to visit again next year in late May or early June, when more of the flowers are out. 🙂
Below are some of my favorite photos from my trip to Heritage Museum & Gardens. Feel free to click each photo to view a larger version. Enjoy!
FYI – I’m a bit behind on normal blog articles because of my vacation and also from finishing a beta-reading project. Hopefully I’ll catch up this week and have some new things for you next week!
The fountain near the entry gates and ticket office at Heritage Museum & Gardens
Daffodils!
Old East Windmill
One of the first rhododendron bushes in bloom at the gardens
Japanese pieris (a.k.a. Japanese andromeda)
A close-up of the blossoms on the Japanese pieris
One of the many nature trails at Heritage Museum & Gardens
Heritage has plenty of benches and sitting areas, too. *wink*
Bulb River – a “stream” of hundreds (maybe thousands) of grape hyacinths
A close-up of the grape hyacinths in Bulb River
Shawme Pond
A treehouse! Part of the childrens’ play area known as Hidden Hollow
The vintage carousel
A sundial in the Donald Marvin Daylily Garden
The flume fountain and waterfall, also in the Daylily Garden
An Ent? The Whomping Willow?? Nope! It’s a weeping juniper!
Farewell from the magnolia trees! We hope you come back again soon!
Have you ever visited Cape Cod or the Heritage Museum & Gardens? Do you have a place you can visit that makes your feel at peace? Share your answers in the Comments section below.
Sara Letourneau 
Reblogged this on rennydiokno.com.
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These pictures are gorgeous! I love that bulb river. Adding this to my list of Places I Need to Visit Someday.
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Thank you, Christina! Heritage really is a beautiful place. Though the next time I go (which won’t be until next year), I’ll go in late May or early June, when even more of the flowers will be out. 🙂
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What a lovely place! And I was fascinated to recognise a goodly selection of the plants, trees and shrubs – and the fact that your daffs are in full bloom, whereas ours are now well and truly over…
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Isn’t it beautiful? 😀 I already can’t wait to go back! Though it won’t be until next year because of other things I have planned for the summer.
Really? Hmmmmmm. We did have a very cold winter and a “chillier than usual” April, so it’s possible that some of our plants might be running behind schedule.
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Well we’re having a fairly chilly May! So what goes around, comes around I suppose. I’m just delighted that this year is going to be another Echium summer – the spires have just started flowering in my garden. So I need it tidy it up to do them justice…
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🙂 I love flowers, but because of where I live (top floor of a condominium complex) I don’t have green space or a deck / veranda that offers adequate sunlight. I’ve done pretty well with bamboo and orchids inside, though. And by “pretty well,” I mean they’re the only plant or flower species I haven’t killed yet. :S
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Well you certainly don’t have brown fingers if you can keep orchids going:) They can be finky critters…
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*lol*
You know what I haven’t figured out yet, though? How to continue caring for orchids after the blossoms fall off. One place said to prune their stems back to 1 inch tall… but the plant never recovered after that.
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I’m not surprised! The thing I do know about them is that you shouldn’t over-water them – and they don’t like tap water.
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Yup. That’s what I’ve been told, too. The “brand” of orchids I usually buy recommends two medium-sized ice cubes once a week.
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Really? I use the leftover bottled water the g/children don’t drink…
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Weeping juniper, that’s so cool. 🙂 I still need to learn how to take care of orchids, lol. I haven’t been to Heritage yet, but on a trip last year I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden and Arboretum, I loved it so much; I wish it was close by so I could spend weekends there! Maybe I should write a post about it. 🙂
Have you tried taking care of a passionflower before? I saw some to buy today, but they were very pricey and I’m not sure how to take care of them, but they were beauuuiful!
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I’d love to read more about the Missouri Arboretum if you have a chance to post about it! Did you take pictures, too?
Orchids are fairly easy to take care of. They don’t need a lot of sunlight, and you only need to water them once a week. The only trouble I’ve had with them is caring for the plant after the flowers have fallen off, so it can blossom again later. Otherwise, they’re fairly hardy, and absolute cuties. 🙂
You can buy passionflowers for home? I didn’t know that! I guess I’ve never seen them sold anyplace I’ve bought flowers before…
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Yes I did! I’ll have to remember to do that.
After the flowers fall off and I cut the stem is when my orchid’s leaves began falling off one by one and I couldn’t do anything to stop it, so sad. But I’d like to try again.
This was the first time I ever saw passionflowers in a flower shop! They were beautiful, but I’m not sure if I have a green enough thumb to take care of one. 🙂
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Wow I have never been there, but it looks gorgeous! I just recently went to an adorable downtown in Mount Dora, Florida with some good friends. ^ ^ That place made me really happy and at peace.
storitorigrace.blogspot.com
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