2017 Garden Bloggers' Fling: Final views

I'm wrapping up my coverage of the Capital Region Garden Bloggers' Fling with photos from 2 more venues from the last day of our tour.  The first stop of the morning on June 25th was Merrifield Garden Center.  It was a huge place, chock full of beautiful plants.

This was a great way to show shoppers how various ground covers might be used in their own spaces

Under normal circumstances, I eschew the indoor areas of garden centers unless I need to pick up new garden gloves, seeds or fertilizer but as taking plants of any significant size home in my suitcase was impractical, I chose not to tempt myself by spending too much time in the nursery area.  And there was a lot to see inside, not to speak of the fact that the nice people at Merrifield welcomed us with beverages, fruit and muffins.

This was the first time I've seen wine sold in a garden center.  What a great idea!

I can't remember seeing hats sold in my local garden centers either

There were LOTS of decorative items for the garden

For some reason, I fell in love with this frog, adorning both a magazine stand and a platter, but I didn't purchase either

Toward the end of the last jam-packed day of the Fling, we visited a 170 acre estate garden in a rural area of Middleburg, Virginia, the last private garden on the tour.  The owners purchased the property and its stone farmhouse, built in 1790, in the 1970s.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by the property's goodwill ambassador.

I've forgotten this handsome corgi's name but he did a great job herding 2 busloads of bloggers in the right direction

The downside of presenting this garden nearly 3 months following the event is that my memory of many of the details have faded.  As I recall, my exploration was largely limited to the area behind the house; however, views of the horse country surrounding the house were visible on all sides.

Arbors of various kinds divided up the main garden area around the house, creating more pretty photo opportunities.

There was a pretty pond.

And an inviting pool.

There were comfortable places to just sit and enjoy the garden too.

Decorative details were scattered throughout the garden but all blended in beautifully with the landscape.

The last day of my first Garden Bloggers' Fling was as wonderful as the first 2 days.  Tammy Schmitt (Casa Mariposa) and her team did an excellent job of planning the event and I'm appreciative of how friendly all the Flingers were, as well as the generosity of the hosts who opened their gardens to a hoard of bloggers with their cameras.  I'm very glad I attended and only wish I'd been more strategic in my approach to collecting photographs of each of the gardens we visited so I could have presented them in the best possible light.  If you'd like to view my prior posts on the Fling you can find them here:

Postcards from the 2017 Garden Bloggers' Fling

Mary Livingston Ripley Garden

Barbara Katz's Garden

Brookside Gardens

Casa Mariposa

Linda Hostetler's Garden

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Hillwood Estate

US Botanic Garden

Friedman, Minnich, & Brinitzer Gardens

Ash & Bier Gardens

Best wishes for a great weekend.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party