“Spring has sprung, the grass has ‘riz, I wonder where the tulips is?” No need to look too far for beautiful flower gardens. BedandBreakfast.com members throughout the country are unveiling gardens after a long winter.
Two inns stand out when it comes to exceptional gardens. Read on to learn where as many as 10,000 tulips, dahlias and peonies bloom throughout the spring and summer.
The Lamplight Inn, home to the singing innkeeper
Larry Wilgus is known among his guests as the singing innkeeper, a name coined for his breakfast time classic serenades by such favorites as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein. Yet beyond his musical talents, the singing innkeeper also has a green thumb. Located Berlin, in the heart of Ohio’s Amish country, the Lamplight Inn is abloom in color throughout the months of April and May as more than 10,000 tulips bloom in the gardens here. Given his musical pension, Larry employed the talents of an Amish neighbor to create a 16-ft. steel frame in the shape of a music note. In addition, the Lamplights gardens are filled with 700 “Tequila Sunrise” tulips which produce stunning 5 inch blooms in a colorful combination of peach and red-orange, along with a mixture of gold and red tulips. This vivid display graces the front entrance to the inn and shouts a happy welcome as guests arrive. Tulip gardens surround the Lamplight Inn offering an explosion of color to usher out the grey of winter.
Carrying the tulip theme indoors, guests enjoy an evening cup of tea or hot cocoa with Innkeeper Helen’s almond-flavored cut-out cookies in the shape of a tulip, frosted in vivid colors similar to the real tulips. A wrap-around porch lined with comfortable rocking chairs, and a screened gazebo provide plenty of space for relaxing and enjoying the great view.
Let me guess, the song of the day for the singing innkeeper throughout the weeks when the tulips are in full bloom….Tiptoe Through the Tulips, no doubt!
The Farm B&B, Horses and Horticulture
The Farm Bed and Breakfast, a spacious 15 room 1850s farm house offers a great respite from city life in Riverhead, the heart of Long Island’s North Fork wine country. While city slickers enjoy western riding lessons from owner and former cowboy, Dave MacKnee who loves to share the story of his twin foals, the farm also offers two acres of flower gardens. More than 3000 Peony plants, Viburnums, and vibrant Dahlias, are grown for the B&B, and what can’t be used there are sent to flower shops throughout the region.
Look for fresh flowers throughout the B&B all summer long, with brilliant Dahlias and peonies in bouquets. Throughout the summer months, guests can explore The Farm’s gardens, and I’m sure if you ask Dave, he might even allow you to take a small bouquet home with you or take you on a tour in-between horse lessons and tending the gardens.
Afterward, take a tour of one of the North Forks wineries or visit a local farm stand for a truly local look at Long Island farm country.