Kentucky Places: Lexington Cemetery
Seeing as spring has sprung early (seriously - we had about 2.2 days of winter this year), flowers and trees are all blooming. One of the most beautiful places to watch this transformation is at the Lexington Cemetery.
Founded in 1849, the Lexington Cemetery skirts downtown with over 170 acres of land, and has has over 200 species of trees including dogwoods, color crab apples, ornamental magnolias and pink weeping cherries. Throughout the season, cemetery visitors can find beautiful gardens of annuals and perennials.
Founded in 1849, the Lexington Cemetery skirts downtown with over 170 acres of land, and has has over 200 species of trees including dogwoods, color crab apples, ornamental magnolias and pink weeping cherries. Throughout the season, cemetery visitors can find beautiful gardens of annuals and perennials.
First 5 photos courtesy of Dee Fife. Last photo courtesy of the Lexington Cemetery.
To learn more about the horticulture, or even the notable people buried on the grounds (including my mom - she is notable to me :), visit http://lexcem.org.
My Kentucky–Downtown Frankfort
I live in our Commonwealth’s capital city, only about four blocks from the Capitol. (That’s the first lesson you learn in my town – the difference between “capital” and “capitol.”)
Y’all. My town is beautiful. Your capital city is beautiful! I love it more than any place in the world. I hope you like it, too. Here are some of my favorite places in the old parts of town – South Frankfort and Downtown Frankfort.
This building housed the first YMCA in town. It’s been vacant for as long as I can remember. I’ve never thought it was a very beautiful building, but a group of preservationists are working to turn it into our town’s first boutique hotel. It sits right on the Kentucky river next to what we affectionately name The Singing Bridge. This bridge, now the site of an open-grate roadbed steel bridge originally had an old-fashioned covered bridge to serve folks coming from Louisville to the Old Capitol Building.
This building was originally a post office. I know it best as the library. It’s currently owned by Kentucky State University and is being remodeled. I’d love to go up into that turret.
There is always a renovation or restoration project in progress in our downtown. I’d not noticed that this one was in the midst of one until I shot this photo and realized that the column is only partially painted. I’m not sure if this is an active renovation or if it got stalled along the way and the plans have been abandoned for exterior work. The building houses businesses and apartments.
This portion of St. Clair street used to be a pedestrian-only mall paved with bricks and lined with trees. About 10 years ago, the city revamped the mall to allow for mixed traffic use. I was devastated at the thought of it, but I have to admit that they did it well. The bars and restaurants have ample room for outdoor seating. Pedestrians have room to walk. People have room to gather and traffic flows in a single-lane, one-way pattern. The jeweler’s clock has been standing sentry over this part of town for many years (the jeweler’s been in business since 1872).
This little guy was tied to a lamp post outside the coffee shop while his owners ordered their coffee. That’s one of the great things about my town – no one will bother this dog unless it’s with scratches behind the ear. If it were a hot day, the shop owner would offer up a bowl of water for him. People care around here.
I love the paint scheme on these buildings on Broadway – the only street in town divided by railroad tracks. If I had a wide-angle lens you’d see that the buildings continue on to the left of this picture. The entire city block is filled with locally-owned businesses including a specialty wine and liquor shop, an antique store, a book store owned by a former Kentucky Poet Laureate, a café, a Kentucky artisan shop and an upscale dining spot.
Directly across from those shops stands the Old State Capitol building. It’s surrounded by a walled park featuring brick-laid walkways and a fountain and is a beautiful spot. While it was once the site of political machinations and even a gubernatorial assassination in 1900, today, the building serves as part of the state’s Historical Society and the grounds are the site of summer concerts and many picnics and playdates.
Our town, like any small town you’ll find in the South is home to a great number of churches. The ones downtown are the oldest and, to me, most beautiful. These two, in particular, remind me of England and cottage gardens (not that I’ve ever been there!). Fittingly, one of them is the Anglican church!
As a town first settled in the 1780s, Frankfort has its fair share of historic homes. These are two of my favorites.
I found this front gate decoration in front of the historic Liberty Hall. Legend has it that the house is haunted and that you can sometimes see The Gray Lady at one of the upstairs windows.
The grounds of the historic homes are open to the public. In elementary school, we would often walk to them in the spring time and spend an afternoon reading or exploring. Can’t you just imagine a garden party in this spot?
It won’t be long until the Capitol grounds crew has these guys out and ready for photographing, again. The tulips in bloom signal spring’s arrival and prompt lots of family photo opportunities.
Just a few short weeks after the tulips, it’s Derby time!
Southland in the Springtime
And there's something 'bout the Southland in the springtimeWhere the waters flow with confidence and reasonThough I miss her when I'm gone it won't ever be too longTill I'm home again to spend my favorite seasonWhen God made me born a yankee he was teasin'There's no place like home and none more pleasin'Than the Southland in the springtime
In Photos: Snow Day
This weekend, I had the good fortune to be visiting my parents in the mountains when we got ourselves a good, old-fashioned Snow Day.
 |
| Snowflakes. |
Now, even though both of my parents are retired from our county school system, the promise of a Snow Day still connotes a day of fun -- an escape from everyday worries and routines.
 |
| Sophie didn't see what all the fuss was about. |
The old joke goes that Southerners storm the grocery store whenever even a hint of snow is in the forecast. I find that we Kentuckians do fall into this pattern, even though snow isn't a rare occurrence for Kentucky winters. I certainly saw a guy buying three gallons of milk at my hometown grocery store on Saturday afternoon, and briefly wondered if he had himself a neat little speculation/profit scheme.
 |
This weekend, we got four beautiful inches of snow, which might be a joke to my friends in Chicago or a blizzard to my friends in Atlanta. Here, it was just enough to celebrate!
Do y'all still love Snow Days?
Mint Juleps
Derby is 100 days from today.
 |
 |
 |
Beyond the imagery of the julep, I find that there is, when done properly, a surprisingly good cocktail. Now, I'm not much for the pre-made bottles that pop up every spring, but a well-made julep is a wonderful complement to a hot day. I've always found that Dudley's in downtown Lexington serves the very best version of the Commonwealth's Cocktail-- sweet, tart, and icy cold, with the slightest fizz of club soda.
 |
While the mint julep is perhaps the most famous symbol of the Kentucky Derby, it has as many critics as it does fans. Louisville newspaperman Henry Watterson famously once described his own julep recipe: "Pluck the mint gently from its bed, just as the dew of the evening is about to form upon it. Select the choicer sprigs only, but do not rinse them. Prepare the simple syrup and measure out a half-tumbler of whiskey. Pour the whiskey into a well-frosted silver cup, throw the other ingredients away and drink the whiskey." Here on HerKentucky, Cristina wrote that, while she loves the individual ingredients, she just can't get behind the finished product. I'm even the only julep afficionado in my own home; my fiancé considers the mint julep to be a waste of good bourbon.
Whether you love the sweet, minty compliment to your smoky, rich whisky or you simply think it's a waste of good bourbon, you have to admit that julep cups are a classic addition to any Southern home. Julep cups add a rich look to any flower arrangement or keepsake -- they're small enough to add elegance to any spot without overwhelming your space.So, while I still have to wait 100 days until I pull out my fabulous hat and dress and sip the season's first julep, I decided to bring a little julep culture into my life tonight. I made a little flower arrangement using a Louisville Stoneware julep cup and some springy blooms. Here's hoping it makes the countdown go by a little quicker!!
In Photos: Winter in Gratz Park
