If we were having coffee I would tell you that last week I posted doors on Thursday Doors from Pinehurst and Southern Pines, NC. Of course there are many lovely doors there, but I could not pass up a walk through the gardens either.  I wanted to share those photos with you today. I can just smell the pine and feel the crunch beneath my feet! Let’s take another sip of coffee and enjoy a walk through the pines in the Sandhills Horticultural Gardens in Pinehurst. The Gardens were established in 1978 with the Ebersole Holly Garden and has expanded over the years to include the Rose Garden, the Conifer Garden, the Sir Walter Raleigh Garden, the Atkins Hillside Garden, the Fruit and Vegetable Garden, the Hackley Woodland Garden, the Ambrose Japanese Garden, and the Desmond Native Wetland Trail Garden.  All in all, the gardens cover 27seven acres! It is a public garden open from dawn to dusk everyday of the year and also offers educational opportunities for anyone interested in plants, nature or design. I would be dancing too if this garden was in my neighborhood!

And there is a Landscape Gardening School which maintains these gardens for our enjoyment!

There are many featured sculptured pieces which just adds to the beauty to be found here……………….

Let’s follow this trail first………..

It’s strange to see a vegetable garden in the middle of the pine trees!

I think the witch has left her shoes here!

Back on the trail, let’s go this way!

Wondering into the Japanese Garden………….

And over the bridge………..

We can sit a spell and enjoy the quiet………..

And then go this way………

I did see flowers too…….

And here is the very special plant, the Bottle Tree, familiar to Southern gardens. What is a bottle tree you ask? Haints are said to roam at night and the bottles, especially blue bottles, lure the evil spirits into them. When the sun comes up, it’s rays evaporate the evil!

I could spend every day here! Next time we’ll explore the more formal gardens of this special place! It’s easy to see why Pinehurst is noted as one of the best places in North Carolina to live! What did you enjoy this week? Let me know!

See you next weekend for WeekendCoffeeShare!