Wednesday, August 26, 2009

At Summer's End...

This poem by Elizabeth Maua Taylor so eloquently sums up my feelings right now as summer draws to a close.

"August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a match flame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away."


Some end of summer pictures of our recent trip back home to the Hudson Valley area in New York state.

Hudson River Overlook taken at Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY

Fountain at formal gardens, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Pergola at formal gardens, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Cottage garden, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Cottage garden, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Formal garden, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Cottage Garden, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Formal gardens, Vanderbilt estate, National Historic Sight, Hyde Park, NY


Zinnia's in the cottage garden, FDR Presidential Estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Rose Garden, FDR Presidential Estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Rose garden, FDR Presidential Estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Butterfly garden, FDR Presidential Estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Butterfly garden, FDR Presidential Estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Butterfly garden, FDR Presidential estate, National Historic Site, Hyde Park, NY


Hudson River inlet, Hyde Park, NY


Hudson River, Hyde Park, NY

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those are the prettiest pictures. Love the cottage garden and how nice to visit FDR's site. Georgia has FDR's Little White House and I have read quite a bit about his life over the years. Hope you have a great day.

tina said...

Vanderbilt estate is most beautiful. I enjoy these trips you take us all on.

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Wow what a beautiful tour! Thanks for sharing!!!

Heather said...

Now if only I could get my edging to look like their edging!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the beautiful tour.
donna

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What beautiful pictures. I love the cottage gardens, how fun would it be to have all that space to garden in.

sweetbay said...

The Hudson Valley region looks beautiful. Thank you as always for the tour!

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

Love seeing the formal gardens. I guess partly because none of us are building them anymore at our homes :-)

Great pictures and views.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jackie~~ Stubborn person that I am, I absolutely refuse to release my grip on summer. Refuse! LOL

I'm not typically all that fond of yellow but the first of your Vanderbilt cottage garden photos shows the yellows of Rudbeckia planted with softer colors and lots of green. Genius.

Muhammad khabbab said...

great cottage garden. Zinnias are looking great. i wish i had as good a butterfly garden as that.

Gail said...

The Hudson Valley in NY is lovely dear friends live near there and it's always a joy to visit them and see the neighborhood. Your photo of the River is wonderful, and the gardens are, too. gail

Joanne said...

Yes there are signs of summer coming to an end and enthusiasm is waning for gardening.

Lovely photos.

Wren said...

Beautiful photos! Sad to see summer go. Seems like I just got the garden in! Half of it is already put to bed and tilled for fall... sigh..

Sylvana said...

I love the pergola at the Vanderbilt mansion. Ever since my visit there I have wanted to do something similar in my own garden - on a much less grand scale though of course.