Reynolda Gardens - Part 1

Welcome to Reynolda Gardens, located in Winston Salem, NC. Back in the early 1900's, Richard J. Reynolds and his wife Katharine S. Reynolds built Reynolda House, which included a 1067 acre estate. Those acres housed the immense manor, a working farm, and 129 acres that were cultivated into a huge garden area consisting of greenhouses, vegetable gardens, floral gardens, and water gardens. Upon the death of the Reynolds', the home and land passed to their daughter, Mary Reynolds Babcock. The garden area was deeded to Wake Forest University in 1961 to insure that it would remain available to the public for viewing and education. Unfortunately, since today is Sunday, the greenhouses and indoor gardens were not open...which just gives me an excuse to go back on a Saturday for even more photos. (To learn more about Reynolda Gardens, click here: Reynolda Gardens History.)

Welcome to the outside Gardens...

A large section of blue flowers just inside the entry to the outside Gardens.

I'm not quite sure what this plant is, but it was pretty...

This is one of my favorites of the pictures I took today...I love the different shades in the blossoms on this weeping cherry tree...

Blooming in the median outside the front of the Gardens are pink and yellow tulips...with the wind blowing as strong as it was today it was difficult to get a good picture, but I did get one of a pink tulip (above) and a close up of the inside of the same tulip (below).

Reynolda Gardens - Part 2

Throughout the Gardens are lots of flowering trees of various types. Below are a few of the ones that were in bloom today...

This is the pink version of the flowering Saucer Magnolia trees found in most sections of the garden.

Close up of one of the flowers on one of the white Saucer Magnolia trees...

I'm not quite sure what this tree was...perhaps a pink version of a weeping willow or a different type of weeping cherry tree, or maybe something else altogether, but it was beautiful.

One of several shaded benches that overlook the Gardens.


Another of the beautiful flowering trees...

Reynolda Gardens - Part 3

The Fruit, Cut Flower, and Nicer Vegetable Garden portion of Reynolda Gardens, designed in 1921. The majority of things planted in this section were only beginning to poke their heads through the soil and were not flowering yet, but I was still able to get a couple of interesting shots...

Introduction sign for this portion of the Gardens...

Rows of small flowering annuals...

One of the greenery-laden archways...



Clusters of beautiful flowers could be found here and there throughout this section.




Ivy and old wood...I loved this picture of ivy growing up over the fence railing and twining around a portion of old wood that still stood there...

Reynolda Gardens - Part 4

Below are pictures from another section of the Gardens...this one is from the Greenhouse Garden, which was designed in 1917 when the house was built. Unfortunately, the Rose Gardens section was not in bloom this time of the year...but it just gives me an excuse to go back for more pictures another time. (I'll take any excuse to take more pictures...)

Introduction to this section of the Gardens...

One of the intrances to a covered walkway that meanders through the Gardens.


Lion's Head fountain & pool in the Sunken Garden.


Blue pansies...

Yellow pansies...


White pansies...

Even though this wysteria vine isn't leafed-out at this point, it still presents an interesting photo...

One of the thousands of daffodils to be found throughout the Gardens.

Flowers from the Weeping Cherry trees

Another view of the beautiful Weeping Cherry blossoms...

Reynolda House

I only have a few photos from Reynolda House...apparently you're not supposed to take pictures inside, as I found out when one of the staff about went balistic when I pulled a camera out to take a picture of a beautiful fireplace. Even though there were no signs (that I saw, anyway), and other people had their cameras out, I was the lucky one who got to find out the hard way. Anyway, I got a couple of shots from outside, though, so at least there's something to show! (To learn more about Reynolda House & the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, click here: Reynolda House History.)

This is just one small section of the house...it is absolutely huge! The house was built in 1917 by Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband Richard Joshua Reynolds, who was the founder of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston Salem, NC. The house includes a full-sized indoor pool, a bowling alley, indoor shooting lanes, a billiards room, a night-club style bar, a ping-pong room, squash courts, formal bedrooms, dining rooms, sunrooms, a library full of books, offices, etc. There are lavish furnishings throughout, including tons of artwork. Not to mention over 1,000 acres of land that include the gardens and farm buildings. (The farm buildings, including dairy barns, cattle barns, stables, a school, a post office, smokehouses, blacksmith cottage, and central heating building, have now been turned into Reynolda Village Shops.) The house itself now houses the Reynolda House Museum of American Art.

One of the many fountains and pools to be found on the land...this one is right outside the house, facing the windows, where it could be viewed easily from indoors.

Close up of the statue in the above picture...


Close up of one of the two frogs on the above-shown pool...

Reynolda Presbyterian Church

When we got to Reynolda Gardens the parking areas were all full, so the police were directing people to park across the street at Reynolda Presbyterian Church. Since we were there, I decided to grab a few shots from the outside...

Cornerstone - the church was built in 1914, as you can see...


Front door section of the church...


One of the many pretty stained glass windows.


Close up of the praying angels from the window shown above...

Close up of the small window near the front door.

Oak & marble entryway...

C.G. Hill - Part 1

Today is a beautiful day...too beautiful to spend it sitting inside all day...so, I decided to get out and take a few more pictures. I headed down to C.G. Hill Memorial Park, which has a good amount of wildlife and some other interesting things to see. Unfortunately, it's not flower season yet, or I'd have some pics of the beautiful wildflowers that grow in the upper field. But maybe soon! Anyway, I got enough pics today to make three different posts. This particular post could be called:

"Ducks and Geese and Durkeys - oh my!"

This is the 'shot of the day' - does anyone else think "Abbey Road" when seeing these three geese?

The watchman...this goose stood on the side watching as his mates swam the pond.

Two of the white ducks that inhabit the waters.

These two are a couple of odd ducks...the one on the left has a spotted head, and the one on the right has a blue head. It looks greenish, like a mallard, in this pic, but under the sun it looked like a bright royal blue...very unusual, but very pretty...

A couple more ducks...

One of the many Canadian Geese that enjoy the abundant food and beauty of the pond.

Contemplation...this goose seems to be trying to make up his mind whether to sit where he is, jump in for a swim, or hiss at the person taking his photo...

Companionship...everything is better with a friend by your side.

When I got to the park, a little girl and her grandpa were coming up from the pond with fishing rods in their hands. The grandfather, being polite and making light conversation, asked if I was going for a stroll. I told them I was there to photograph the ducks and geese, and the little girl told me there was a "Durkey" out there. I asked her what a 'durkey' was, and she said that it was a cross between a duck and a turkey. I'm guessing this guy was her 'durkey'.

I have to say, he's also my new friend! The ducks and geese at the pond have no interest in interacting with the people who come for a visit...except for this guy. While I was taking pictures, he came right up to me, wagging his tail and making a funny noise...almost like a dog woofing. And when I say "wagging his tail", I don't mean the tail wag that usually goes with a waddle...I mean he was literally wagging his tail like he was happy. He was only about 2 feet away from me when I took this picture. Then he proceeded to walk along beside me for a ways around the pond before sailing out over the water and going for a swim...

C.G. Hill - Part 2

C.G. Hill Memorial Park is a quiet, tranquil place where the surrounding residents go to fish, walk, enjoy the wildlife and nature, and to walk their dogs. The lower loop goes around the bottom pond, and the upper loop surrounds a field that in summer is filled with wildflowers and butterflies.

View of the pond from the trail that separates the lower loop and the upper loop.

This squirrel was cautious, but not as easily frightened as the squirrels in my yard. She sat and watched me as I walked closer and closer, one step at a time, and let me take her picture over and over before scampering away...

This is the beautiful gazebo, seated at the near end of the pond. There have been many beautiful weddings there, and when it's not in use it's a lovely spot to sit and watch the wildlife and pond.


The wooden bridge near the gazebo...it connects parts of the walking trail around the pond as it spans the creek that feeds into the pond.