Hillwood Estate Gardens

It's a lovely time of year to walkabout and see the seasons change. Fall is my favorite; my husband prefers spring. We usually walk along the Nationsl Mall every day. But to change it up a bit, we decided to visit Hillwood Estate - home of Marjorie Merriweather Post - to walk the gardens, see the house, and visit the jewelry exhibit. We were at the Estate five years ago for the Pret a Papier exhibit and I loved the paper dresses. We did not take a formal tour last time, so we went with a docent for both the garden and the house tour. It could not have been a better day temperature wise. The varieties of mums were interesting. The cutting garden and green house were huge. In front of the house was a grand entryway. We were then taken to the French Partere, the rose garden, the friendship walk, a putting green, and a Japanese style garden with running water elements and terraces. The grounds have defined seating spaces along the way - complete with a very mid century embellishment of blue plastic ribbed chairs and metal umbrellas. It is hard to imagine that one person not only owned all of this, but at least two other just as extravagant properties. It was nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.