Ash Lawn - Highland, Monroe's home

Very near Monticello is Ash Lawn-Highland, the home of President James and Elizabeth Monroe. The home is small, but has been beautifully restored. It was full of period furnishings and decorations. It is now owned by the College of William and Mary and is used for many purposes. Since we got there in the morning, we got the longer tour and learned many facts about the Monroes and the other Founding Fathers.

Just outside the gift shop, the garden was being prepared. The flowers lining the path were in full bloom. You could hear the cows in the background. This was a working farm in the Monroe's day, not as fancy an estate as the other locations we visited, and many of the working buildings are being restored.

Another beautiful day to enjoy the blooms.

The more formal entrance (which we exited through) opens onto the formal gardens. We wandered around for a bit and then decided we had time for Montpelier before heading home.

Morven - Virginia Garden Week

After Monticello, the weather was still beautiful, so we went to the nearby Virginia Garden Week activity and toured Morven. MORVEN HOUSE AND GARDENS are on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register. Below is the official info:

The handsome, three-story brick manor house at Morven was completed in 1820 by local builder Martin Thacker in the late-Georgian/Federal style on land that Thomas Jefferson knew as Indian Camp, part of the original Carter land grant. The Stone family owned the Morven estate for most of the 20th century. John Kluge bought it in 1988. He gave his 7,378-acre estate to the University of Virginia Foundation in 2001. This gift included the historic Morven Farm, ten other working farms, and numerous houses and buildings. The main house and other buildings have been restored and adapted for University programs. Visitors will experience the 19th century ambiance of Jefferson’s time, while also seeing the 20th century additions of the Stone family and the recent Kluge interiors by David Easton. Selected antiques, Oriental rugs and documentary reproductions complement the elegant wallpapers, carpets and fabrics that have remained at Morven.
The grounds contain a number of unusual trees, including a pair of Osage oranges, the state champion Chinese chestnut, and a lovely dove tree. The extensive gardens form a series of distinct outdoor rooms, with thousands of tulips, pansies, forget-me-nots, lilacs, wisteria, spireas, deutzia and a rose garden. Annette Hoyt Flanders renovated the garden in the 1930s. Morven was a charter property open for the first Historic Garden Week in Virginia in 1929.

This is a once a year opportunity for the public to tour the estate that is owned by the University of Virginia. We were glad we took the opportunity, the gardens were beautiful. The house just completed restoration and this is only the second year it was open.

A gigantic pot of Amaryllis was at the entrance to a cute facility that looked like it was used for board meetings and other conferences. We were looking for where the tickets were sold, but had to keep going.

What looked like gigantic slabs of rock was actually an art installation made of metal. Guess that is what happens when owned by a university - random art.

Approaching the gardens, there was fun things to see tucked among the plants.

The views were amazing. This is near Monticello, but not up on the mountain, so was a different view.

The house that we toured briefly. Was interesting to see how the restorers tried to retain the historical and functional. Since the house is used frequently, there was a mix of antique and reproduction furniture.

Entrance to the garden.

Everywhere you looked, there were more plants blooming.

A white wysteria in one of the open spaces between the garden "rooms". Each had a different theme like spring, summer, roses, hydrangaes, etc. Several like the Japanese garden are still a work in progress.

Little tiny floating flowers looked like some one had sprinkled the pond with blossoms from trees, but they were actually growing in the pond. The flowers were so thick, you could barely see the small orange fish underneath.

Lilacs and tulips.

These were fun peonies, a very different variety than usually seen.

The little cottage tucked in the edge of the garden was probably used by a caretaker in the past. Now, it was open inside for meeting space.

Some of the plants were just starting to grow, the grounds were designed for all seasons, but were spectacular in the spring. After our adventures wandering around these two amazing estates (Monticello and Morven), we made our way to a coffee shop in Charlottesville for the free Wi-Fi and a chance to relax. There are lots of fun shops in the downtown mall area - the streets were blocked off and it was an open air mall with lots of restaurants tables in the middle. A very European feel. We finished the evening with dinner at a Creperie. It was a tiny shop with just a takeout window, but the crepes were filled with yummy things! Ryan had chicken, provolone and apples. I had the chicken, swiss, asparagus option. Finished off with a dessert crepe with dark chocolate and strawberries. That's one things we'll miss about the East Coast when we go home - all the great food options!

Monticello - Jefferson's home

Monticello - Jefferson's home was worth the trip. Set on a mountain top, the views were incredible, and the innovations he adopted were fun to see.
The mountains in the distance and the vegetable gardens in the foreground.

Some of the 160 species of trees that he had planted.

Our tour of the house ended at the sundial.

Looking back at the house. Interesting to see how bright the colors were that were favored in Colonial and Federal times.

All of the necessary but not so pretty things were hidden underneath the house so not to block the view, but remain closeby.

One of the overlooks.

The back of the house. You can see some of the 20 oval flower beds near the house.

The beds in the sun were blooming, but the ones in the shade were in various stages.

Beautiful peonies.

Amaryllis in the green house.

This is an interesting shot because it is very similar to the Mount Vernon greenhouses. The fires were built underneath the floor to keep the greenhouse warm.

Tulips - after the house tour, I wasn't up for another tour. (The tour was interesting, but the questions from our fellow tour members were excessive.) So, we took a self-guided tour of the grounds instead of the group tour.

The most interesting room in the underneath part was the ice room. Ice from nearby lakes was cut in the winter and stored in the ice room to be used all summer long.

The front of the house.

After Jefferson's stay in Paris, he completely redesigned the house. What was originally one floor was split in two.

The vegetable gardens.

Walked through the gardens to see what was growing.

Iris and cabbages in the part that was in the full sun.

The cemetary at Monticello is still owned and used by the descendents of Jefferson.

There were several wreaths in front of the gigantic headstone for Jefferson.

We then followed the trail back to the visitor center for lunch, to view the movie about Monticello, the small museum and the gigantic gift shop. We learned all sorts of facts about Jefferson and his amazing home.

B&B in Charlottesville, VA

During Snowmaggedon, we tried to visit Monticello, but everything was closed. So, this weekend we had no plans and decided kind of at the last minute to go to Charlottesville. Between Virginia Garden Week and a marathon, and the fabulous weather, every B&B and hotel room in town was full. Finally found one about 20 minutes from town that sounded nice and had an open room so we reserved it. When we showed up, it was a little bit more country than we were expecting. AT&T cell phones didn't work, no tvs, no internet. Lots of time for reading and was a nice break.
The front of the High Meadows Vineyard Inn.

Just one of the many places to relax around the grounds.

Explains the Vineyard part of the name.

The dogwoods were in full bloom.

Ryan enjoying the almost 90 degree weather. We were glad that it cooled down for Saturday and Sunday.

Yum.....Breakfast.

We had Eggs Benedict the first morning and crepes the second morning thanks to the chickens just outside.

The common areas were full of books about gardening and cooking.

Our room with the tallest bed I've ever slept in. Luckily there was a chair nearby that we pulled closeby to use as a launching tool. I don't know how else you're supposed to make it.

We spent the weekend touring the historical sites and President's homes nearby and enjoying the peace and quiet at the B&B.