The Flemish province of Limburg is to me, without doubt, the most beautiful of all. Spread unevenly through the hilly landscape are large estates and castles, such as the beautiful domain of Hex. After exploring the Haspengouw region in May, I subscribed to a newsletter to inform me about other fun events and the first email I received included an invitation to the open garden days. I’m a girl and I love castles, so I knew I had to be there. I marked the September dates in my agenda, and used the two months that laid ahead to convince my parents we really had to go.
I was a bit bummed about the fact that the email said the gardens would be freely accessible, yet we had to pay an entrance fee. But I quickly forgot about the setback once we were inside and free to roam the entire castle grounds. There were policemen and women on horses guarding the visitors, a beekeeper to scare the kids, plenty restaurants and local produce-tasting spots, a small museum with dozens of old horse carts and carriages, and so on. But I loved the flower – and rose gardens most of all.
We had, just like this year, had a relatively warm winter and late snowfall and frost. This deferred winter had caused many of the roses to bloom later than normal, and so there were not many roses blooming in the gardens yet. A kind gardener showed me where the few blooming bushes were so I could take pictures further away from the crowded paths. Running into people as kind as the gardener, always make day trips so much better. I had never smelled roses before, and now there was a big bush of gorgeous pink roses in full bloom. I was the only one around the enjoy them. It was a great experience! After the rose garden we walked around the pop-up flower market (where you could buy pineberry plants) and then headed to the flower – and vegetable gardens. That’s where most of the above pictures were taken! There were so many flowers and butterflies. I was completely in my element, haha. The garden is build up against a hill, so once you’re at the top you have a lovely view over the village. At the top of the hill was also a cute little cottage, where you could buy local products such as elderberry syrup and honey from the estate’s beekeeper. I think it’s used as a shed during most of the year. I had a great day out with my family. Even if my dad wasn’t in the mood for elderberry pancakes and my sister kept scaring the butterflies away. I was really happy with the photos I took on this day, and therefore am surprised to find out I hadn’t posted them yet. Thank goodness someone started the #ThrowbackThursday trend on Instagram. It serves me well today!
I hope you guys are heading for a great weekend. Enjoy!
Prachtig zeg 🙂 en ik moet dus gauw eens naar Limburg toe!
Lovely photos! It’s snowy outside here and I miss flowers blooming so much; this post is like a taste of summer!
Wow!! Stunning pictures! I would love to roam around these gardens taking it all in!
~Sara
gorgeous photos!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
Ooh mooie foto’s!
It is fun to see some more of your photography. A beautiful place indeed.
OOh zo mooi!!! Ik ben er nog nooit geweest!Ik hou van de wilde bloemen look!
oooh mooie foto’s seg!
Beautiful photos! Sounds like a great day out with your family 🙂
Away From Blue
This looks like such a beautiful and magical place! The gardens sound beautiful. And elderberry pancakes sound delicious!
funnily enough, i had a big bee buzz by me today on a walk. so weird when that happens in the winter, total head scratcher 😉 these photos are dreamy as can be Nikki! like a marvelous fairytale land that you got to explore. happy weekend lady, hope it’s a great one for you!!
The bees are already back here too! We haven’t had a real winter like you guys in Canada this year. It’s February (well, almost) and it hasn’t snowed once this winter. So weird! Hope you, KASA and Tayeh will have a lovely weekend too! ^^
oh the photos are so beautiful!♥ great post!:)
http://www.Lorietta.cz
beautiful photos Nikki. Sounds nice that you were able to get away from the crowd for a bit 🙂
You take the most gorgeous landscape and nature photographs! Even when I was in school to become a photographer I just never was super great at photographing anything outdoors. I was much better at portraits and weddings but those are so crazy sometimes that I wished I could just take my camera and walk and enjoy nature!
http://www.theadoredlife.com
Thank you Alissa! It means a lot to hear that from you. I was wondering if you have a website where you share your photography too? You’ve awoken my interest! 🙂 xo
Hele mooie foto’s! Doet me verlangen naar beter weer 😉
Zalige fotos, landschap is niet zo mijn talent! Ik sukkel altijd met zulke foto’s! Super leuk, ik ben ook op zoek naar mooie plaatsen om te bezoeken! Altijd leuk om zulke post te zien!
Amai hele mooie foto’s, ziet er een prachtige omgeving uit 🙂
love your photos! very ethereal and calming to my nerves 🙂
xx
http://wearingwolf.blogspot.com
Beautiful photos, Nikki! This makes me want explore my photography skills 🙂
These photos are really beautiful. Now I’m wishing it were spring even more! 🙂
wow, weer zalige foto’s! Zeker van die bloem!!
oh my…how lovely it is… Bright colors, joy of simplicity. I can almost touch those flowers.
Zulke mooie foto’s Nikki! ik krijg nu ook zin om tussen bloemen te gaan lopen en kastelen te bezoeken…
Och so beautiful!!! Love this post!!
These pictures are like postcards <3
Check out my new post if you want 😉
Maybe we can follow each other on Facebook?
Love, Lima xoxo
http://www.limaswardrobe.com
So glad you paid the entry fee! Looks like you had a lovely time!!
These pictures are so outstanding. What a gorgeous and pretty location. I just love how much character there is and the stunning vibrant shades of the flowers.
http://tia-cherie.blogspot.com
Amazing photography. Very beautiful!
http://www.theonlyfashionprincess.com
These pictures are spectacular! This place is amazing! It’s on my list of places that I would like to visit after seeing this post. I’m sure you had a lovely time.
Enjoy your weekend!
http://thefashioness.com/
Waw, prachtige foto’s alweer 🙂 Je hebt echt talent! Ik moet dringend Limburg eens bezoeken dus! 🙂
Wow beautiful pictures!