Sand Castle Village New Bern

Gardens

by grandmaR

There are many gardens in the Tryon Palace area, many of them carefully restored to something that would look familiar to th Victorians. The website had a list of flowers that would be in bloom at the time of year when you visit.

We saw the kitchen garden (photo 2) This garden, located behind the Kitchen Office, offers a variety of produce almost year-round. Eighteenth-century varieties of vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees make the kitchen garden one of the most popular of our outdoor sites.

We also walked by the Stoney flower garden (photos 1 and 3) on our way back from lunch, It is located on Pollock Street. It is just beyond the Carraway Garden: the Stoney Garden is surrounded by a white picket fence. It features old-fashioned perennials and antique roses of varieties known to have graced New Bern gardens in the 19th century. The garden was constructed in the late 1990s with funding provided by the family of Mary Kistler Stoney, a member of the original Tryon Palace Commission.

Photo 4 is one of the pictures I took at the Stanly house. In 1967, the year after Stanly house was moved to its present location, a formal “Town Garden” of brick walks edged with boxwood was created. While the overall design suggests an 18th-century garden, plantings close to the foundation of the house were not typical of that era. Unfortunately, not many flowers other than daffodils, hyacinth, pansies, violas, snowdrops and camellias were in bloom at the time of year that we were there (early March). The big wide flower beds in front of the palace had all been dug up and were just bare earth waiting for someone to plant something in them.

Also, when we first drove in they were taking down and cutting up a huge tree (photo 5) and that blocked the normal way to get to the visitor's center. Bob said he didn't see that anything was wrong with the tree.

Buildings on the old Capitol Grounds

by grandmaR

When we were walking around the palace waiting for the tour, I took some pictures of the architectural details.

After we went through the palace where they had told us we could take no photos, we toured the outbuildings.

The old kitchen was a reconstruction, so I thought photos would be OK.

When we got around to where they were doing a weaving demonstration, the weaver told me that by law photos were forbidden in all NC historic buildings. I do not believe that she was telling me the truth. I have searched all over and can find no place that such a law is written.

But I didn't take any inside photos afterwards.

Except I did take photos of the stalls in the old stables.

And this one of the hall in the stable.