A Gardener's Escape

Discover bed-and-breakfast getaways all over the country that boast stunning gardens and homegrown veggies.

There’s something about a bed-and-breakfast retreat. Whether it’s the smell of fresh coffee brewing, the attention to detail in each room or the friendly faces you’ll meet, a welcoming B&B makes for a supremely enjoyable experience.

Now imagine this. In addition to the regular amenities, your destination also offers outstanding flower gardens for your enjoyment. Or how about breakfast prepared from the vegetable garden out back? We searched high and low to find great B&Bs around the country that cater to garden lovers. Take a look at some of our top picks.

Linden Plantation, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Prepare to be awed by the 750 azaleas that greet guests as they drive up to Linden Plantation. Soon the azaleas give way to a group of magnolias that have stood here for more than 150 years.

The gardens, which cover 8 acres and include 75 varieties of roses, offer stunning variety. They include a cottage garden, a butterfly garden, a parterre garden, and a ruins garden created from the rubble of the original pre-Civil War plantation home. A wild garden contains over 100 varieties of native plants nestled around five ancient red cedar trees. Find out more on their website.

Anna V’s, Lanesboro, Minnesota
The innkeepers of this 1908 Victorian home, pictured at left, pride themselves on fresh garden produce, including raspberries, rhubarb and tomatoes.

Guests are encouraged to pick their own raspberries, as well as apples straight from Anna V’s two trees. The apples are also used in an old-fashioned press to make sweet, fresh cider for guests. For eye appeal, there are hydrangeas and hostas. In fact, more than 300 species of hostas can be found at local farms. For more information, visit their website.

Hillcrest Hide-Away, Lanesboro, Minnesota
Since Lanesboro calls itself the bed-and-breakfast capital of Minnesota, it’s not surprising to discover Hillcrest Hide-Away just down the road from Anna V’s.

While breakfast is important at any B&B, the owners of the Hillcrest Hide-Away kick it up a notch. First, the savory breakfasts are prepared with a variety of fresh herbs found in the planters and gardens surrounding the property. And the wow factor? As often as possible, dishes are garnished with edible flowers, including daylilies, pansies, nasturtiums, scented geraniums, hibiscus and honeysuckle. The landscape includes a walking labyrinth bordered by 300 feet of flower beds. The gardens are designed to attract hummingbirds, which guests often spot on the honeysuckle vine in the late afternoon. Learn more online.

Blue Stone Cottage, High Falls, New York
With 18 cottage gardens to stroll through, this B&B is a gardener’s delight. Guests use the gardens for meditation, yoga, inspiration, respite and renewal. They’re also encouraged to cut their own bouquets to adorn their rooms, and then take them home after their stay is complete.

Furnished with antiques and bejeweled with flowerpots from the 1930s, Blue Stone Cottage is a find. Learn more here.

Steamboat Inn, Idleyld Park, Oregon
Perched on a river bluff in the Umpqua National Forest, the inn is known for colorful wildflowers and edible mushrooms. Bird and butterfly gardens keep things humming.

If you’re lucky enough to stay the last weekend in April, be sure to check out the Glide Wildflower Show, where hundreds of native wildflowers are on display. Learn more about the Inn here and about the Wildflower show here.

Abella Garden Inn, Arroyo Grande, California
Garden-themed rooms and a setting that includes a running stream and waterfalls make a stay here a relaxing experience. The tearoom offers such flavors as lemon mint, bay leaf and orange leaf, all picked right out of the garden. The owner and chef was born in Italy, and her cooking reflects her heritage. For more information, visit their website.

The Garden Gables Inn, Lenox, Massachusetts
The large, late-blooming kousa dogwood on the grounds is one of the summer attractions here. The innkeepers promise it’s quite a sight to see.

The landscape is alive with perennial beds, container gardens, stretches of burning bush and an organic veggie garden that furnishes part of the breakfast menu. As an extra treat, guests are welcome to divide garden plants to take home with them. Learn more here.

Brewster Inn, Dexter, Maine
If you appreciate hard workers, the owners of the Brewster Inn will impress you. Mark and Judith Stephens are completely reinventing the 2½ acres of gardens surrounding their historic inn. The 1875 home, which was featured on a 2008 segment of HGTV’s If Walls Could Talk, is on the National Register of Historic Places. So Judith and Mark have made sure that both the indoor and outdoor renovations are in keeping with the property’s original character.

One of the couple’s current projects is replanting lilac hedgerows like the ones that bloomed decades ago—bushes so fragrant, some people in Dexter say you could smell them all over town. And here’s a challenge: With such ambitious landscaping plans ahead, Mark promises a free stay to any guest willing to turn a part of the gardens into something truly special. Learn more at their website.

Inn Serendipity, Browntown, Wisconsin
The innkeepers here follow the 100-foot rule: Almost all their breakfast ingredients travel no more than 100 feet from their gardens to your plate.

Guests can also enjoy an extensive tasting tour of the inn’s kitchen gardens, as well as a tour of the perennial flower beds. You’re welcome to join in on each harvest to get the full experience. Operating on solar energy, Inn Serendipity uses organic growing methods and even has a straw bale greenhouse. For more information, go online.