Dispel the winter blues by planning a trip to the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

 Even though we’re heading into the depths of a British Winter, turn your thoughts to Spring by planning a trip to the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC from 27 March to 11 April 2010.

 This annual festival celebrates the coming of Spring and commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry trees by the Japanese in 1912, many of which were planted in the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park.   3,800 more trees were given in 1965 and flowering cherry trees now adorn the length and breadth of the city. The two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival is of course centred around the blossoming of these beautiful trees but includes many cultural, sporting and culinary events.

 Activities take place every day over the two-weeks, like two-hour bike rides showcasing the natural beauty of the trees in their colourful glory and cruises along the river to view the banks festooned with pink blossoms. 

 There are also signature events like the Parade of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, presented by Southwest Airlines on Saturday 10 April.  The Parade showcase entries from across the USA and around the world, including marching bands, cherry blossom queens from the US and Japan, giant balloons, floats and the national Cherry Blossom Festival All Star Tap Dance Team and Youth Choir.

 Immediately following the Parade is the Sakura Matsui Japanese Street Festival, presented by the Japan-America Society of Washington, DC, presenting more than 80 organisations highlighting Japanese performances, arts, crafts and food.

 For more information go to www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

Green Fingered Exploration during Virginia’s Historic Garden Week

 This will be the 77^th year that Virginia’s historic homes and gardens have opened their gates to explorers from all over the world.  Now dubbed “America’s Largest Open House”, more than 250 of the State’s most beautiful gardens, homes and historic landmarks will welcome visitors between 17 and 25 April 2010.

 Truly a magnet for amateur garden lovers and professional horticulturists from all over the world, Historic Garden Week offers the chance to see the landscapes and cultivated gardens of a raft of historic properties, some of which specially open for the week, such as Tuckahoe Plantation, the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson.  Many also offer special Garden Week activities and extended opening hours.

 Those interested in architectural history and interior design also have many treats in store, with beautifully renovated historic properties open to the public, such as Westover Plantation on the bank of the James River and considered to be one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the USA.

 Historic Garden Week is one of the flagship annual events staged by the Garden Club of Virginia, an active association of 47 garden clubs, whose members collectively form a group of more than 3,300 civic leaders from around the State.  It exists to celebrate the beauty of the land, to conserve the gifts of nature and to challenge future generations to build on this heritage.

 Their mission is to restore historic gardens and landscapes, conserve Virginia’s natural resources, inspire a love of gardening and provide education for members and the general public.

 The full schedule of tours will be available on www.vagardenweek.org in January and more information on the Club at www.gcvirginia.org

Gardens, wineries and national parks showcased at MyCapitalGardensUSA with introduction by Monty Don

 The states of Maryland and Virginia, along with the US capital city, Washington, DC, have hundreds of wonderful gardens, National Parks, wineries and farmers’ markets to offer.  MyCapitalGardensUSA was created to bring information about them together in one place to help visitors plan their green-fingered tours around the region. Gardening Guru Monty Don says “There is a wide range of spectacular gardens to visit, many loaded with history as well as exciting examples of the most modern ideas about contemporary garden design.”

 MyCapitalGardensUSA highlights a rich and diverse collection of the best ‘secret’ and historic gardens on the eastern seaboard of the USA.  The website, developed by the Capital Region USA in association with the National Gardens Scheme (NGS), features the ‘pick of the bunch’ of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC’s botanical gardens, National Parks, wineries and farmers’ markets.

 These include Jefferson’s Monticello, featured in Monty Don’s very personal expedition ‘Around the World in 80 Gardens’ broadcast by the BBC and described by him as being “perhaps the most famous garden in the whole region – if not the whole of America.”

 “There is a wide range of spectacular gardens to visit in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC,” said Monty.  “I made my pilgrimage to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Autumn, when the fall colours were at their best, but I long to return in Spring and see it again – and many of the other gardens I missed first time round such as Dumbarton Oaks, Ladew Topiary Gardens and the fabulous arboretums in this region.”

 For more information  visit http://wwww.mycapitalgardens.co.uk

New Patuxent Wine Trail in Maryland’s Calvert County showcases award-winning wineries

 Maryland’s newest wine trail was inaugurated earlier this year, featuring five recently opened wineries: Fridays Creek Winery, Running Hare Vineyard, Perigeaux Vineyards & Winery, Cove Point Winery and Solomons Island Winery.

The Patuxent Wine Trail can be found in Calvert County, part of historic Southern Maryland, known as the Pleasant Peninsula which is sandwiched between the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay.  The region offers stunning water vistas and beautiful rolling farmland that soothe the soul and a soil and climate that are a close approximation of the famed Tuscany region of Italy, enabling local wine makers to create sumptuous award-winning wines to rival those anywhere in the world.

 Every aspect of the region’s natural wonders is on display at the five wineries on the Patuxent Wine Trail. In Northern Calvert County, Fridays Creek Winery is situated on a working farm near the narrow reaches of the Patuxent River. Head south on the trail to Running Hare Vineyard to find rolling hillsides full of vines, a familiar sight to many Europeans. Farther south, at Perigeaux Vineyards & Winery, take in the scenery amidst lush woodlands between the Patuxent River and St. Leonard Creek. The southern tip of Calvert County features Cove Point winery just south of the verdant Calvert Cliffs State Park near the Chesapeake Bay, and Solomons Island Winery on Hungerford Creek near the lower Patuxent River.

 Roam through the tour and sample superb wines in a restored tobacco barn, in the folds of a gently sloping vineyard or along the banks of a pristine creek. You will be treated with warm Southern Maryland hospitality and take home a wealth of memories.

 For more information go to http://www.patuxentwinetrail.com/