The Elizabethan Gardens

To celebrate Mother's Day this year, my family graciously took me to The Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, which are designed to replicate European gardens in the 16th Century.  Whether you are a flower lover or a history buff, The Elizabethan Gardens are absolutely amazing!

 Below, Anna poses with a statue of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603).  The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth never married.  The state of  Virginia is named after her, in reference to her title as "The Virgin Queen."  Her reign is known as The Elizabethan Era  and is famous for its acceptance of the Protestant Reformation, its time of political peace, and its flourishing English literature and drama including such playwrights as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare.

The Elizabethan Gardens go right up to the sea and have a scenic view of the Pamlico Sound...

We especially loved the Rose Garden, which was just coming into bloom.  Anna smelled...

 ...and smelled...

 ...and smelled her way through the blooms.

One thing we can certainly say about our daughter: 

she takes time to stop and smell the roses.

Hands-down, my favorite part of the Elizabethan Garden was this tree.  It might not look like a very special tree until you read its sign, below:

 Wow!  How incredible to realize that this tree was already 200 years old during the American Revolution.  And that it has survived 485 years of Outer Banks hurricanes.
THAT is resilience!

Another part of the gardens that really struck a chord with me was a display of  many varieties of hostas.  I had to smile thinking about how my mom has always grown hostas, and I could almost hear her say, "I wish those deer would get out of my hostas!" :)

I also adored this sundial, which is from my favorite poem by Robert Browning...

 I have to hand it to my boys for being such good sports while Mommy toured the gardens.  And almost as if the Lord was rewarding John for his patience through all the "girly flowers," right before we left, John found a fossil dig at a picnic area.  You have to know how much our John loves sharks to understand his euphoria when it comes to finding and identifying shark teeth.  And yes, John was providentially wearing his favorite shark/shark teeth guide t-shirt that he loves so much...

 These were just some of the great little shark teeth we found in that dig, including two that had multiple teeth still hooked together...

Neat plaque dedicated to The Lost Colony of Roanoke.  

That is such an amazing story to study...

So that was our trip to The Elizabethan Gardens.  If we hadn't pulled her away, I'm certain Anna would still be there even now smelling all the flowers...

http://elizabethangardens.org/