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 a whole lot of historical past through the years, so be part of me on this tour of this beautiful Classical Revival home that’s nonetheless there on the grounds. The plantation is left with 38 acres, down from the tons of of acres that it began with. The Sugar Cane barons of the 18th century lived alongside the river and there have been tons of of plantations. The Houmas Home is called after the Houmas indians who have been natives of the world again within the 1700’s, when this land was settled. You may 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 deliver out some important of us 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 have been a number of the greatest offenders. So I’m not glorifying slavery in any respect, however fairly wanting thoughtfully at a wonderful 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 have 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 important critiques of the plantation and located this one the place somebody was questioning why Houmas Home didn’t point out slavery extra usually. The reply again from Houmas Home on Trip Advisor was very effectively said and in my view, a very good clarification of why they don’t make slavery extra distinguished of their excursions. I appreciated what they stated, there are various different plantations you’ll be able to go to the place slavery is roofed extra absolutely in a reverent method, and is far more part of the excursions. He talked about that Houmas Home options the existence of the Nice Sugar Barons and that the slave cabins have been relocated in 1858 and parcels of land given to the slave households once they have been freed by the proprietor again then, earlier than the Civil Conflict. Learn his complete reply on that hyperlink for all the clarification. So I believed I might get that out of the way in which earlier than I begin this tour. When you really feel the must be ugly/damaging about this publish within the feedback, I additionally reserve the proper to delete feedback.

We had a wonderful 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 have been superbly executed. Right now I’m going to share the gardens, since they’re very intensive, dripping with Southern allure. Subsequent week, I’ll share inside the home. I took a whole lot of pictures!

The Houmas Home & Gardens was open to the general public in 2003, after intensive 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 non-public residence, because it was for its earlier house owners for over 240 years.

I’m so glad it’s open for excursions, these historic websites ought to be preserved, in my view.

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 could be filled with historic memorabilia and information.

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

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

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

The reward store has plenty of 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 point out 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 pictures I took, however the grounds converse for themselves. The historical past is as wealthy because the grime on the grounds.

The mansion tour was an hour lengthy and there have been possibly 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 reside oaks on the grounds have been completely beautiful. I’m at all times amazed at how huge and sprawling they are often.

That is the home from the facet.

These timber have been beautiful. She talked about that the reside oaks are from 600 to 700 years previous.

They’re magnificent oaks.

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

The limbs have been pruned and stored 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 reside oak I’ve ever seen!

Azaleas have been blooming already.

This reside oak on the garden was additionally beautiful. 600 years previous.

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

A lot to see and absorb 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 photos. I might positively advocate 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 will probably be subsequent on the excursions. Doing two in at some point would have been lots.