For this warm and windy Saturday we headed to Mansfield to see the Kingwood Center Gardens. These gardens, and the mansion, were built by Charles King, who made his money leading a company that made electrical fittings for the trolleys and railroads of the early 1900s.
The house and grounds were built in 1926, and feature 47 acres of formal gardens, as well as greenhouses.
When Mr King died in the 1950s the estate was turned over to a private foundation that to this day own and operate the beautiful grounds.
My first photo of the day was taken with the ‘wrong’ settings. A couple of nights earlier there was a vivid full moon and I had changed the white balance and numerous other settings, forgetting to reset them. When I took the photo of the fountain it did not represent it’s actual look, but rather this ‘full moon’ look.
Returning my camera to more proper settings for garden photography we set off. We were immediately impressed with the landscaping.
As we made our way through the gardens we passed numerous planters with interesting mixes within each one.
The stone paths and perfectly trimmed hedges framed the flora.
The newest lens was perfect for some close ups.
With the full frame capabilities, getting clear shots of the flowers is much easier.
So much easier I came home with numerous photos of insects on plants and flowers.
Additional planters on stone walls.
The lawn and gardens in front of the house was immaculate (except for some gardener put tire tracks in it 🙂 )
As with most gardens, weddings are a big business. Unfortunately for the bride this day some heavy rains came later, after we finished our tour.
The house opened at 11, and a local peacock was there waiting for entry.
While not extensive, there was some statuary well placed throughout the gardens.
The carriage house had 5 bays for automobiles. What could be better, a 5 car garage and great landscaping.
One of the greenhouses featured cacti.
More insect closeups, this time in the greenhouse. Fortunately for this one he stayed away from the nearby Venus fly trap.
We were pleasantly surprised by the Kingwood Center Gardens. While not Longwood (who is), this is one of the best, if not the best, gardens we have seen in Ohio.
RDZ Photography 