Romancing the Spring In North Carolina
Gardens, Galas and Bed and Breakfast Getaways Galore!

By Shirley Anitra Swagerty

Spring colors are in full bloom in North Carolina!  There are spectacular public gardens, interesting cultural activities and fun outdoor festivals to experience throughout the state.

If this will be your first visit to a North Carolina Bed and Breakfast, you are in the right place. North Carolina has an impressive list of firsts. In Fayetteville, Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run and putt-putt golf was first invented. The country’s first silver mine opened near Lexington and America’s first forestry school was established in Transylvania County. Belmont Abbey was North America’s first abbey cathedral and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first state university in the country. America’s first folk festival was created here and the first state-supported institution to emphasize the performing arts was the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

So what are you waiting for…summer? To entice you to come out of winter hibernation and to convince you that spring has finally sprung, American Historic Inns (AHI) and iloveinns.com have found these North Carolina Bed and Breakfast and Country Inns that offer specials for the season.

IN THE MOUNTAINS
The lush Appalachian Mountains and the popular Great Smoky Mountains offer gorgeous scenery. Wind your way along the famous Blue Ridge Parkway to arrive at one of these relaxing inns.

Special spring packages are offered at Mast Farm Inn. Stay in a farmhouse guest bedroom, private getaway cottage or historic rustic cabin and enjoy organic gourmet fine dining. Located in Valle Crucis, near Boone and Blowing Rock, tour the twelve separate gardens in a preserve at The Daniel Boone Native Gardens and make reservations for MerleFest, The American Music Celebration.

Experience a mountain getaway for all seasons at The Chalet Club at Lake Lure. This perfect blend of an all-inclusive family-oriented resort, small inn and B&B offers accommodations in the chalet and guest cottages. There is an abundance of indoor and outdoor activities to enjoy.

IN THE PIEDMONT

Along with spring cleaning comes the time for caps and gowns. Davidson Village Inn in Davidson offers a graduation weekend special and Greenwood Bed & Breakfast in the historic Fisher Park neighborhood of Greensboro is perfect for college reunions.

Burke Manor Inn Bed and Breakfast is located in Gibsonville near the college town of Chapel Hill which also boasts the North Carolina Botanical Garden and Coker Arboretum.

Celebrations and entertaining spring to life at The Duke Mansion Historic Inn and Meeting Place in Charlotte and The VanLandingham Estate Inn & Conference Center in historic Midwood.

AT THE COAST
Warmed by the Gulf Stream, the coast is lined with pristine beaches, sand dunes, wetlands and the perfect population for spring.

While staying at the award-winning Graystone Inn in Wilmington, take time to visit Airlie Gardens from the 1920s, New Hanover County Extension Service Arboretum with a huge display of native and cultivated plants, the Victorian elegance of Bellamy Mansion Museum Gardens, the 18th-century Burgwin-Wright House Gardens, the ten-acre wildflower preserve at UNC-Wilmington Arboretum and the old growth forest and lush foliage of Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

Many of the properties listed above are also in the best-selling bed and breakfast guidebook Bed & Breakfasts and Country Inns with a Buy-One-Night-Get-One-Night-Free Certificate.