I enjoyed my visit to Mackinac Island in late June, but I must say that my favorite place was not even the parlor of the Grand Hotel where I had afternoon tea. No, it was this beautiful tea garden and fountain so lavishly spread out on the grounds below the hotel! I entered via the staircase you see at far left above, and that's where I immediately saw tucked away …
These beautiful peonies with a gorgeous piece of artwork in the background.
I adore peonies and love to admire them on the rare occasions I see them.
This bright pink one was simply breathtaking!
The foot of the staircase led me to the lawn, where a game of croquet was in progress.
From this angle, the croquet players could see Lake Huron in the distance.
On the advice of my scouting husband, I headed back behind the tea garden and found a lovely greenhouse filled with geraniums, the hotel's signature flower. I read on the Grand Hotel website that the front porch flowers include 2,500 geraniums, and more than 5,200 geraniums can be found in all of the flower beds combined. That's a lot of geraniums!
Now I didn't actually see any tea plants in the garden, but the so-called "tea gardens" of yesteryear were also designed for drinking tea and strolling, and they were sometimes called pleasure gardens as well. Who wouldn't find "pleasure" in seeing a giant topiary in the shape of one of the island's famous horse-drawn carriages? Below are a few of the other tea garden snapshots I took that day, and as you can see, I do love flowers. And considering that it was almost July when I took these, I remain astonished that the mild climate there in Michigan makes these lovely flowers possible at this time of year!
And if you enjoy tea and gardens, you'll enjoy Bernideen's "Tea in the Garden" link-up party today. You can find it here!
Thank you for showing the beautiful Grand Hotel gardens. The lovely peonies immediately brought back memories of my grandmother who grew them in St. Catharines, Ontario.
ReplyDeleteDear Angela:
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful vacation you had and isn't that the staircase in "Somewhere In Time" where she runs down into the lawn calling "Richard, Richard"? I had a friend who passed away and she always said that when she got to the Grand Hotel she was going to do that! Their flowers are so beautiful! So happy to have your link. Anything related to tea works here and the Grand Hotel is so beloved. Would love to have tea there too!
What a beautiful post!Loved the garden and flowers!
ReplyDeleteOh I so enjoyed that tour and seeing those gorgeous flowers
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the Grand Hotel which is so famous
Beautiful pictures, Angela! Of all the times I've visited the island, I've never walked down to the tea garden, nor have I seen the green house where they grow all the geraniums. I'll have to remember that on my next visit. Loved the picture of the American flag flying high above the geraniums. When I "borrowed" The Grands photo for my blog post on the 4th of July, I said I wondered how many flags fly above the world's largest porch [660 ft. long]. I googled it but couldn't find an answer. I was surprised to get a response from my post from the hotel saying the number of flags is 10. Who knew they'd see my post!
ReplyDeletePhyllis, I imagine your blog posts are definitely on their "radar" by now since you alone have caused an uptick in visitors! And it's nice to know they have 10 flags. It never dawned on me to actually count them!
DeleteWhat gorgeous flowers - and I love the topiary horses and carriage. So beautiful, all of it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLovely just Lovely !!
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying all your pictures. I too love peonies and that hot pink one was gorgeous -- I can't wait to go too.
ReplyDeleteWow! That purple and white flower is stunning.
ReplyDeleteI believe that's called columbine, which I never see growing back home!
DeleteAngela, What lovely grounds at the Grand Hotel. Peonies are one of my favorites. I saw a PBS special on the island where horses rule not the gas powered vehicles. Brings back a little of the olden days. Thanks for sharing and have a great day. Sylvia D.
ReplyDeleteJust stunning! You know I would love this garden and swoon over that greenhouse full of geraniums. What a treat to see!
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ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! My favourite is the white and purple flowers. I'm not sure if this is a new trend, but I've been noticing more outdoor wall art lately.
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