• About Me
  • OTHER WORK

One Foot Out the Door

~ Adventure at Home and Away

One Foot Out the Door

Tag Archives: gardens

The Magic Outside my Door

21 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by lexklein in Travel - General, United States

≈ 67 Comments

Tags

Dumbarton Oaks, gardens, magic, tiny, Washington DC, Weekly Photo Challenge

It’s no secret that I’ve been a reluctant transplant to Washington, DC, for the last nine months, and that was well before all the upheaval of the last few weeks. In my brain, I know it’s a beautiful city, but there was something in my heart that wouldn’t let me fully embrace this place.

Washington is filled with limestone facades and mansard roofs I would rave about if they were in Paris. Streets with colorful row houses lined up under flowering trees fill my vibrant urban neighborhood, yet I desultorily snap photos of them and never look at them again. Impressive statues spring from a plethora of green parks, rowers ply the sparkling Potomac in slim shells, and gothic spires pierce the sky from Georgetown to Cathedral Heights. And still I said Meh …

But a month or so ago, a switch was flipped. We started to make a point to get out at least once a week with tourist eyes. I resisted – some places more than others. Great Falls promised and delivered some powerful nature, Rock Creek Park and Roosevelt Island got us deep into the woods in the midst of a major city, and Union Market produced one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I’d had in a long time!

img_4696
img_4479

Languishing on the list, however, was Dumbarton Oaks, a house and garden in Georgetown that my husband had frequented years ago as a student. I pictured a few teak benches and some pedestrian flower beds, a boring colonial house and small parklet of limited interest.

img_4787

Proving my bias toward international inspiration, I got a comment from a blog reader way over in Sri Lanka (that’s you, Peta!) who gave me the final shove I needed to go see this place. On an abnormally warm, sunny day, we finally ventured through the gates to what turned out to be an enchanted garden of wonder and delight.

img_4762

Each “room” was a microcosm of magic: Nearly tropical pockets of ponds, flowers and giant leaves.

img_4715

Autumnal tableaux of pumpkins and pergolas draped with withering vines.

img_4796

A mossy wall with a tiny Pan and his flute, pointing the way to an oval pool, a long allée, and its vanishing point among a stand of still-green trees.

img_4735

img_4739

A pebble garden, geometric latticework, and grassy steps in a worn amphitheater.

img_4771

img_4774

img_4800

Time stopped as we slowly wandered the grounds here and for a little while, I fell in love with my adopted city.

img_4743

img_4707
img_4706
img_4783

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow One Foot Out the Door on WordPress.com


I’m a restless, world-wandering, language-loving, book-devouring traveler trying to straddle the threshold between a traditional, stable family life and a free-spirited, irresistible urge to roam. I’m sure I won’t have a travel story every time I add to this blog, but I’ve got a lot! I’m a pretty happy camper (literally), but there is some angst as well as excitement in always having one foot out the door. Come along for the trip as I take the second step …

WHERE I’M GOING NEXT!

ITALY – April 2018

Follow me on Instagram, too!

Can’t get enough of this driftwood. I’ve been within minutes of this beach multiple times in the last two decades and never knew it was here, so I’m making up for lost time! #driftwood #driftwoodbeach #jekyllisland #georgia #beach #beachwalk #getoutside #beautifuldestinations
This tree is still rooted here in the sands of Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, but most of the other specimens are nothing but a surreal installation of natural sculptural art by now. #driftwood #driftwoodbeach #jekyllisland #georgia #beach #earthart #getoutside
Life goes on ... at Pululahua, an extinct volcano crater near the equator in Ecuador. One of the only inhabited volcanic calderas in the world, Pululahua boasts beautiful farmland and other lush plant growth due to the highly fertile soil and its location in a cloud forest. Even if you’ve heard the equator tourist sites are hokey, head north of Quito to see this gorgeous green patchwork quilt! #pululahua #ecuador #volcano #hiking #getoutside #beautifuldestinations #cloudforest #crater #caldera
Our one and only peek at a volcano in cloudy, rainy Ecuador last month. #worthit #ecuador #ilinizas #volcano #hiking #getoutside #beautifuldestinations
I thought I was bummed about the crummy weather in Ecuador last week ... how about this poor couple taking their wedding photos in 30-degree temps in front of Cotopaxi (which is not remotely visible). We never saw Cotopaxi in 8 days in Ecuador, despite its being visible for many, many miles normally. #badweather #cotopaxi #ecuador #wedding #getoutside #volcano #bummer
One more shot from Quilotoa, the brightest note in our weeklong rain-fest in Ecuador. #quilotoa #ecuador #volcano #hiking #getoutside #rimwalk

Recent Posts

  • Better Blues
  • A Sorry Excuse for a Story
  • Summer Interlude
  • Searching for Silver Linings in Ecuador
  • A Moment of Silence

WHERE I’VE BEEN

  • Argentina (9)
  • Australia (2)
  • Austria (4)
  • Belgium (1)
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina (4)
  • Canada (1)
  • Chile (6)
  • China (7)
  • Colombia (3)
  • Costa Rica (3)
  • Croatia (6)
  • Cuba (3)
  • Czech Republic (1)
  • Ecuador (2)
  • England (1)
  • Estonia (3)
  • Finland (2)
  • France (8)
  • Germany (3)
  • Ghana (5)
  • Greece (9)
  • Himalayas (11)
  • Hungary (1)
  • Iceland (8)
  • Ireland (4)
  • Israel (4)
  • Italy (3)
  • Jordan (4)
  • Mexico (5)
  • Mind Travels (6)
  • Mongolia (9)
  • Montenegro (1)
  • Nepal (13)
  • Netherlands (1)
  • New Zealand (3)
  • Nicaragua (1)
  • Norway (1)
  • Peru (8)
  • Photos, Just Photos from All Over (21)
  • Poland (4)
  • Russia (3)
  • Slovakia (5)
  • Slovenia (7)
  • South Africa (2)
  • South Korea (1)
  • Spain (2)
  • Switzerland (1)
  • Tanzania (6)
  • Tibet (18)
  • Travel – General (104)
  • Turkey (6)
  • UAE (1)
  • United States (29)

Archives

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
%d bloggers like this: