Tulips

I have a weakness for tulips -- they're one of the first ornamental plants that I planted as a young gardener (at our first house).  I'd admired them near the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC when I spent time doing research post-graduate school nearby (I think the display was some sort of a National Tulip Library display for a couple of years -- it wasn't far from the Jefferson Memorial).

But tulips don't exactly work for a living, aside from providing beauty and story, but perhaps that's enough sometimes.

I've always enjoyed visiting Biltmore's gardens in the spring, as their Festival of Flowers always includes extensive tulip plantings in the walled garden near the Conservatory.

LW, Woody and tulips

 I wish I'd managed to get a shot while Woody was actually sniffing a tulip!

Woody resting up after many petting opportunities (lots of folks were visiting on a warm Saturday)

Entrance to the Walled Garden

We strolled around the Bass Pond after our garden visit -- quite nice.  And we remembered Mocha's mishap breaking through the ice on a winter visit several years ago (my gardening companion had to pull him out) -- no danger of that yesterday!