Friday, January 18, 2013

South End Garden Tour 2012


Let's leave the snow behind! With my busy end-of-year family visits, moving and so on and so forth, I haven't had a chance to share my pics (from June!) with you.

Why do I love the South End Garden Tour and do it each year? Well, one reason is that I get to do the tour each year with a wonderful friend. Reason enough. But also because I live outside of Boston I don't really get an opportunity to wander around the neighbourhood streets and check things out as much as I'd like.

Here are more reasons from last year's tour:

I finally got to walk inside of the Union Park park (it's privately owned by the people who live on the street).



 I got to see the beauty in the South End buildings



Including witnessing how old buildings have evolved over time, showing their growing pains as scars on their walls.



I got to go places in those buildings I would never ordinarily get access to... like walking through this tunnel to get to a garden, and seeing some gas lights down a side alley that has been in Boston since forever (really!)


Of course, like everyone else, I got to see all the lovely plants and things that made each garden unique.


Including some gorgeous hydrangeas that happened to match my manicure!


One special moment was in a (otherwise unremarkable) quiet garden, where there was a welcome bench to sit on for five minutes. It was great to take a breath, and sit. And look up...


A restaurant we stopped at for another break had the cleverest rainwater gathering system - a simple design where the rain ran down through plants on an angled roof, then down a gutter, and to the plants below via a metal chain. Smart! And pretty.


And then, somewhere along the way we got to see Boston from the skyline, which I very seldom get to do. Bliss. I love my adopted city.




Even though I do enjoy the snow, I can't wait for summer to roll around once again. Every year the Garden Tour is a different and more beautiful route...


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