Vines Gardens

The entrance to Vines Gardens. Photo by me, May 2018.

 
Last week I had the opportunity to take a walk through Vines Gardens in Loganville. Vines was on my list of places to visit, but I kept it on hold until spring which I thought would be the best time to visit. Now that it is becoming late spring, even though it feels like summer already, I remembered this garden and made my way there.

In searching the web may find lots of conflicting information about Vines Gardens. Some will say it is a botanical garden, some a restaurant, some an event venue, some a park, some a private residence. What Vines is, is a public park owned by Gwinnett County and it is free to visit the gardens. The house on the property is an event venue used for weddings and such. It is true that this was once a botanical garden and it was at one time a private residence too. Today the gardens are maintained by volunteers and you can wander around them at your leisure.

Photo by me, May 2018.

The property is 79 acres and features a paved trail of a half mile, a variety of garden types and a lake as a centerpiece. 

 

Photo by me, May 2018.

I entered the grounds and followed the path down a hill and turned right. The lake was in front of me and a white bridge spanned the water with nice views of the lake and gardens. You can get a sense standing on it of the size of the gardens and how peaceful they are.

Photos by me, May 2018.

Along the water's edge was a bed of yellow iris in bloom.

Photo by me, May 2018.

Photo by me, May 2018.

This is the view from the center of the bridge looking across the length of the lake. A gazebo is on the right and a deck overlooking the water is on the shore to the left.

Photo by me, May 2018.

One of the gardens on the property is the "Asian Garden." It was a pretty standard Japanese garden with maples of various sizes and other plantings. This garden is a shady place where the shadows give it a cozy presence.

Photos by me, May 2018.

Photo by me, May 2018.

Photo by me, May 2018.

The Japanese garden was perched on a small knoll and had a winding boardwalk that passed through. The garden had Japanese maples and other trees. As is common in Japanese gardens there was a water feature with a small pond, waterfall and a bridge. There was also a bench on which to sit and take in the shadows and filtered light through the trees. I imagine this garden is especially beautiful in the fall.

Georgia has an ideal climate for Japanese gardens and there are several scattered throughout the state, but most are rather small like this one. I keep hoping someone will come along and build a large Japanese garden in the state. 

 

Photo by me, May 2018.

The next garden is known as the "White Garden." The flowers and blooming bushes that are in this garden yield white blooms as you would expect. This was my favorite garden with the white blooms and the statuary.

Photos by me, May 2018.

Photos by me, May 2018.

This garden feels very delicate with all the white blooms and I missed the peak of the blooms that had come earlier in the spring, but there were still enough left to enjoy. There are white azaleas and honeysuckles and plants I am not familiar. The honeysuckles had already turned from their white color to their golden shade indicating they were ripe.

Photo by me, May 2018.

This large piece of statuary was of a nymph blowing a horn  atop a base that reminded me of a tiered wedding cake with cherubs encircling her. It adds a sense of formality to this garden before entering the rose garden that follows it.

Photos by me, May 2018.

Photo by me, May 2018.

From this perspective in the garden you can see the house that was built on this former estate across the lake. I do not believe I have every seen so many windows on a house that is not all that large. It had more windows than actual walls.

Photo by me, May 2018.

There is a small grove of trees that provide a gallery effect between the nymph statue and the rose garden like a visual pass-through.

Photos by me, May 2018.

A statue of a lion peers from the grove of trees into the rose garden. The variety of statuary was the best feature of all the gardens.

Photo by me, May 2018.

The rose garden was in bloom. Roses have such a distinct smell and any time I go through a rose garden I have to take in the fragrance.

Photos by me, May 2018.

Photos by me, May 2018.

This garden had a few different varieties of roses and I particularly liked the vivid pink one. Spanning the garden walkway were two rows of Doric columns. The rose garden had a feeling of the Mediterranean about it with the columns, the statuary and the towering trees that appear to be cedar that serve as a backdrop.

Photos by me, May 2018.

Of interest to children or young at heart adults there was a sizable model town set up with a train set. The train only runs on certain days of the month according to a sign. It was not running the day I visited.

Photos by me, May 2018.

I followed the path along the shore of the lake that is on the same side as the house and found even more color. The mountain laurel that was blooming had such vibrant colors. Rhododendron is most often just a very dull green bush or small tree, but when it blooms the colors are incredible. Along the path were also more iris and azalea in bloom.

Photo by me, May 2018.

One last glance of the lake looking across to the rose garden.

Photo by me, May 2018.

Vines Gardens exceeded my expectations in its beauty. I am so glad that I visited in the spring when so many things were blooming. I look forward to seeing it again, maybe in the fall.