Houmas Home & Backyard Tour in LA: Half 1 The Gardens

Sitting on a curve of the Mississippi River, the Houmas Home and Gardens dates again 240 years. This iconic sugar cane plantation has seen loads of historical past through the years, so be part of me on this tour of this gorgeous Classical Revival home that’s nonetheless there on the grounds. The plantation is left with 38 acres, down from the a whole bunch of acres that it began with. The Sugar Cane barons of the 18th century lived alongside the river and there have been a whole bunch of plantations. The Houmas Home is called after the Houmas indians who had been natives of the realm again within the 1700’s, when this land was settled. You possibly can learn all concerning the historical past of Houmas House on the Historical past web page of their web site.

The final time I visited a plantation in Louisiana was Oak Alley in 2015 with my sister. We loved that tour too, though it did convey out some essential people who thought it appalling that I might be sharing a plantation home and a few thought that I used to be too flippant and insensitive with my publish. So I’ll open this publish up with this. Slavery was a horrific and tragic a part of Southern historical past and the plantations that dot the Mississippi River in Louisiana had been a number of the greatest offenders. So I’m not glorifying slavery in any respect, however moderately wanting thoughtfully at a gorgeous house and backyard plantation home that does have a wealthy historical past, with slavery an enormous a part of that historical past. The web site does point out 550 slaves at Houmas Home throughout slavery days and earlier than the Civil Conflict.

This explicit Antebellum plantation home doesn’t cowl slavery as a lot as a number of the different homes in Louisiana. Oak Alley the place I visited earlier than, has rebuilt the slave cabins that when had been a part of the plantation grounds. They reverently share memorabilia and artifacts in these cabins, telling the tales of the slaves that when lived there. I seemed up some essential opinions of the plantation and located this one the place somebody was questioning why Houmas Home didn’t point out slavery extra typically. The reply again from Houmas Home on Trip Advisor was very properly acknowledged and for my part, clarification of why they don’t make slavery extra outstanding of their excursions.  I appreciated what they stated, there are a lot of different plantations you possibly can go to the place slavery is roofed extra absolutely in a reverent method, and is rather more part of the excursions. He talked about that Houmas Home options the life of the Nice Sugar Barons and that the slave cabins had been relocated in 1858 and parcels of land given to the slave households after they had been freed by the proprietor again then, earlier than the Civil Conflict. Learn his total reply on that hyperlink for all the clarification. So I believed I might get that out of the best way earlier than I begin this tour. If you happen to really feel the should be ugly/detrimental about this publish within the feedback, I additionally reserve the appropriate to delete feedback.

We had a gorgeous day for touring the gardens, it was good climate. Mark and I went together with my sister, Renee, for the tour. We first toured outdoors within the huge gardens, which had been fantastically accomplished. Right this moment I’m going to share the gardens, since they’re very in depth, dripping with Southern allure. Subsequent week, I’ll share inside the home. I took loads of images!

The Houmas Home & Gardens was open to the general public in 2003, after in depth restoration of the home and gardens by the present proprietor, Kevin Kelly, a New Orleans businessman. Mr. Kelly permits excursions of the mansion and gardens, nevertheless the Houmas stays his personal residence, because it was for its earlier house owners for over 240 years.

I’m so comfortable it’s open for excursions, these historic websites must be preserved, for my part.

Houmas Home has a museum and three eating places on the grounds, so it’s an effective way to spend the day.

Houmas Home is about an hour from New Orleans and it took us about an hour and a half from my sister’s home in Covington. We didn’t tour the museum as a part of our tour, however opted for the Home & Garden tour solely.

It’s a really distinctive wanting museum, so I’m positive it will be stuffed with historic memorabilia and details.

We ate within the Dixie cafe and loved it rather a lot. There’s a white tablecloth restaurant too known as The Carriage Home.

Renee and Mark, strolling to the present store, the place we purchased our tickets.

All of the buildings are actually genuine to the time interval portrayed.

The present store has numerous Southern decor, books, backyard issues.

It’s a enjoyable place to browse.

Exterior, we meandered the sidewalks and took in all the gorgeous sights within the backyard. The web site says that the gardens are constructed to indicate off all 4 seasons with indigenous Louisiana vegetation. There are water options in every courtyard, with fish ponds and vegetation.

I’m not going to talk to all of the images I took, however the grounds communicate for themselves. The historical past is as wealthy because the dust on the grounds.

The mansion tour was an hour lengthy and there have been perhaps 12 of us on the tour, so comparatively small. The gal who did the tour was very educated and desirous to share.

The Japanese backyard.

The stay oaks on the grounds had been completely gorgeous. I’m at all times amazed at how massive and sprawling they are often.

That is the home from the facet.

These timber had been gorgeous. She talked about that the stay oaks are from 600 to 700 years previous.

They’re magnificent oaks.

This explicit stay oak actually caught my eye and I can’t even adequately share it right here with out numerous pics. It sprawled out from the mom tree manner over to the constructing within the distance. See all of the moss overlaying it? It’s a really previous tree.

The limbs had been pruned and saved from going into the buildings however the sprawl was unreal.

One part of the lengthy limb.

And one other part.

It has a brace in a single part. That tree was the good stay oak I’ve ever seen!

Azaleas had been blooming already.

This stay oak on the garden was additionally gorgeous. 600 years previous.

Different facet of the home. We’ll go inside the home subsequent week.

A lot to see and soak up on the backyard tour.

That tree!

A sugar cane vessel now a fountain.

I hope you loved this backyard tour. We positive did! I’ll be again subsequent week to share all the within of the home with tons extra footage. I might positively suggest a go to to Houmas Home, we beloved our day. If I preserve going to Louisiana, I’ll have to go to extra. I feel Nottaway or Laura might be subsequent on the excursions. Doing two in sooner or later would have been rather a lot.

 

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