Garden Trekking Staycation Style

As I have gotten older (insert old age here) I have learned a few things about myself, one being that I spend a lot of time daydreaming about garden trekking. It doesn't help matters that I have a few (wink, wink) books about great garden destinations to fuel the fire. One may logically reason that my long absence from posting as the Landless Gardener was because I was off on a fabulous garden tour at an exotic locale. Only part of that is correct; I have been delinquent in my writing for far too long.

As for grand garden destinations, I have been sticking close to home the last few months and I am glad I did. The other day while I was running with my dad we took a turn down a street we had never traveled before. We both find it remarkable that after living in the same city much of our lives there are still streets within our own neighborhood we have not explored. This in turn inspired me to research a few Cincinnati gardens and parks that I have never visited or have been away from for many years. So on a recent beautiful, sunny day I spent some time at Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park.

Friendship Park is located just outside downtown Cincinnati and overlooks the Ohio River. The location of the park affords remarkable views of the river bridges and of Mount Adams. Unlike Ault Park, where I spend much of my time gardening, Friendship Park is more of a landscape park and less of a flower park. Friendship Park is a perfect place to study the importance of the bones of a landscape. Here one can see how trees, shrubs, grasses and hardscapes create a unique environment. The organic lines of the park, from its curved seating to earthen works, complement the park's setting between the Ohio River and the hills of Mount Adams. Unlike Ault Park, which has a constant buzz of amped-up activity, Friendship Park is quiet, almost meditative. How wonderful that within eyesight of downtown Cincinnati one can find a place for peaceful reflection and quiet comfort.

Jenny Koester, AKA The Landless Gardener, is the Garden Blog Editor for Horticulture magazine and the author of The Garden Life, This Chix Pix and A Year in the Park.