Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Garden Destinations

This is the May Master Gardener's news article for the Ruston Daily Leader......

If wander lust is the strong desire to travel, then a gardener’s wanderlust is the strong desire to travel to beautiful gardens. With summer right around the corner, let’s investigate some North Louisiana garden- getaway ideas.

Trifecta in the Park: Only 5 miles north of Ruston is the Lincoln Parish Park. Located within the park you will find a lovely butterfly garden filled with both host plants and nectar plants for a variety of butterflies. Just across the road from the butterfly garden is the xeriscape garden. This interesting garden demonstrates how to landscape in order to minimize the need for watering. Both of these gardens were installed and are maintained by the North Central Louisiana Master Gardeners. In the coming weeks, the Master Gardeners will be opening their new addition to the park – the Tree Identification Trail. This shady half-mile trail beside a lazy brook will help visitors identify some of our native Louisiana trees. Three gardens for the price of one! What a deal!

Sleeping Late in Simsboro: What could be a better than waking up surrounded by a lush garden? Creekwood Garden offers rental cottages with bed and breakfast services. After wandering the shady pathways surrounded by sumptuous plantings and looking out over the serene pond, you can spend the rest of your visit figuring out how you are going to talk yourself into going back home!!

Go West Young Man: To our west, Shreveport offers two impressive garden destinations. The R. W. Norton Art Gallery was “rated as one of the South’s favorite haunts” in Southern Living magazine. It boasts 40 acres of botanical gardens and landscaped views accessible by walkways dotted with comfortable seating. The gardens are shared by eight impressive sculptures while the art museum offers several interesting exhibits. This summer you can enjoy Enlist! Art Goes to War.  The Gardens of the American Rose Center is home to the national headquarters of the American Rose Society.  The center consists of more than 65 individual gardens that contain approximately 20,000 rose bushes encompassed in 118 wooded acres. A visit to these two gardens with a delicious lunch break in between would make a great day trip!

Wildly Formal: Travel to Monroe to visit the formal surroundings of Elsong Gardens.  There you can enjoy a self-guided tour of the Four Seasons Garden, Oriental Garden, and the Musical Grotto. The gardens are part of the Biedenharn Museum that  includes the Coke Museum, Coca-Cola Memorabilia Collection, and Bible Museum.  Break for lunch and then go wild at the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. You can canoe and fish on the 1,600 acre lake, wander the nature trail, or participate in one of the educational programs that teach about the refuge ecosystem.  This getaway certainly covers the spectrum from culture to nature!

Saddle Up And Head South: Waterfalls, bridges, fountains, sculptures, nature trails, formal gardens, and even a geyser can all be enjoyed at Hodges Gardens State Park. Also known as “The Garden in the Forest”, the garden includes boat rentals for the 225 acre lake and fishing from the shore. Thirteen log cabins provide fun accommodations, but the best part is……you can enjoy it all with your horse! That’s right!! The park includes an equestrian campground and trails!

So as summer vacation time approaches and you are wondering where to satisfy your wanderlust, consider some of these homegrown getaways.





 

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