Recently, when I put together the round-up of 10 Great Places to to Enjoy Autumn in the DC Area (that are not Farm Festivals), I realized that it had been a little while since we’d been to some of those spots — many since last fall, go figure. One of them was the garden at Dumbarton Oaks, the beautiful grounds of the historic estate in Georgetown that is now a museum and research library.
Part of the reason we hadn’t been there in so long was because the garden was closed all last spring and half of summer while it was undergoing renovations. The other parts were the weather, which seemed to be either too hot or too rainy for what felt like forever, and the hours (2-6pm Tuesday – Sunday), which are hard to fit into our schedule.
Every path leads somewhere lovely
But last weekend we found ourselves with a wide open afternoon on a gorgeous early fall day, so Sasha and I headed across town to enjoy the botanical oasis and some quality time together. As with all our visits there, we just wandered and picked our paths as we went. A couple of new sightings this time: 1) A bunny! 2) A woman picking a pear off a tree and eating it right there. (For the record, I don’t think that’s actually allowed, so don’t go picking and eating fruit and saying you heard it was cool from KFDC!)
I’ve written about the gardens at Dumbarton Oaks a couple of times before, so you can click here and here for more insight. You can also get an idea of just how lovely it is in the images below.
Dumbarton Oaks Gardens
Where: Georgetown, DC
When: Tuesday – Sunday, 2-6pm (2-5pm November 1 – March 14)
Admission: $10/adult, $5/child | FREE November thru mid-March
(Click on images to see them them larger.)
Checking out a “natural” sculpture on the south lawn
Bunny!
A lovely place to wander
Pan, mid-dab
Pears are ripe (but not for the picking!)
A peek in the Arbor Terrace
Who else hearts elephant ears?
Light & shadows in a vine covered walkway
Cherry Hill glows with pink blossoms come spring
Teepee-like sculptures decorate this expanse
The Catalogue House contains images that depict recent renovations
Cartwheels on the Ellipse
Lots of monarch sightings — it’s time for their migration to Mexico
My favorite, the Pebble Garden
A view from above
And another…
Pomegranates (again, no picking!)
An extra pop of color
Hi!
Check out this bonehead 😉
The north lawn is a great spot for slo-mo videos of kids running (if you get those requests, too)
Quod Severis Metes – As you sow, so shall you reap
