Mohonk Mountain House - Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, Mohonk Mountain House Part 1, the first part of my trip was covered in a dense fog. But by the middle of the second day, the clouds parted, sun shone through and blue skies took over.

Mohonk means "lake in the sky" and the Victorian castle is located along Lake Mohonk where rock formations from the Shawangunk Ridge frame the 266-room hotel.

According to John Van Etten, the grounds superintendent for the Mohonk Mountain House, the "400-acre estate's natural beauty is emphasized by its many specialty gardens. The landscape features 15 acres of flower gardens, a 3-acre show garden, a memorial rose garden, rock gardens, perennial borders, three cutting gardens, herb gardens, sunken gardens, an aquatic area and an ornamental-grass garden."

I especially loved the fern trail which had about 30 varieties of ferns surrounding a winding path.

And nestled among the ferns, I even found a few Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) plants. I just find these plants so fascinating with the leaf hood covering the spathe in the center:

Now that the fog had lifted, I was able to see the alliums and violas planted together in the flower beds. I loved the color and texture combinations.

After Memorial Day, the flower beds are filled with annuals and tropicals grown in the on-site greenhouse. I am looking forward to going back and visiting at different times of the year to see what is blooming. You can follow along with the gardens and all that's blooming at the Mohonk Gardens on their blog: http://gardeningatmohonk.blogspot.com/

Mohonk Mountain House is just 6 miles west of New Paltz, NY and the NY Thruway, 80 miles from Albany International Airport and 90 minutes from Manhattan.