Spring in Colonial Williamsburg, Part I

Is spring really, finally here to stay? I certainly hope so. I am ready for it. Winter seems to have had a hold on everyone this year, but I think spring is starting to take over. I love seeing the tiny blooms peaking out of my twisted willows and Japanese maples.

I love Colonial Williamsburg in spring. We took a walk there recently and everything is still dormant or unplanted. But, I thought I'd share some pictures from a visit last May that I meant to share at that time, but never got around to. Hopefully this will get you in the springtime mood.

(all photos taken with a canon powershot 870 IS and edited in google+)

Red Buckeye

When we walked over to the "colonial garden" area on Duke of Gloucester Street we looked around to see if we could find the name of this tree above.

red buckeye

We're pretty sure this is it judging from it's label (above).

I love walking through all the gardens here. You can go from one manicured yard to the next down brick walkways and through little garden gates.

If you've never been to, or even heard of, Colonial Williamsburg, it used to be the capital of Virginia during colonial times. Basically, it's a living museum with ..... let me just copy and paste from wiki. So much easier:

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The 301-acre (122 ha) Historic Area includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 (during which the city was the capital of Colonial Virginia), as well as Colonial Revival and more recent reconstructions. The Historic Area is an interpretation of a Colonial American city, with exhibits including dozens of authentic or re-created buildings related to colonial and American Revolutionary War history. -- read more at Colonial Williamsburg's Wikipedia page.

You need a ticket to get into many of the buildings, as it is a museum with costumed interpreters, but you can walk the streets, drink/eat in the taverns, enter many of the shops, and enjoy some of the gardens for free. If you haven't visited, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful place.

I feel like I've visited it more in the past few years than I have my entire life, even though I've always lived within 30 minutes of it.

This is just kind of a tiny peek inside this living museum. Tomorrow I will show you some of it's more recognizable buildings and a bit of the colonial garden shop. More flowers!