Nearby: Tendercrop Farms

Like many wonderful things on the North Shore, Tendercrop Farms was a complete surprise. A missed turn in Newbury led me straight down High Road to the bustling Tendercrop,  a place as busy as it could be on a late Sunday morning and a cloudless sky.  Children laughed as they said their hellos to the farm animals; gardeners sighed when they saw the beautiful collection of plants and flowers on sale; and I smiled widely as soon as I beheld the great bounty of food waiting for me inside (naturally, the dried flowers hanging from the rafters were a perfect added touch). Tendercrop Farms sells much of its own produce and meat and I was sure to take home a healthy helping of each. The taste of the sausage alone would be enough to bring me back. I often struggle with the ethics of being a carnivore, but this sausage may have been the best I've ever had. What a difference! In addition to sausage, they offer their own chicken, turkey, and steak, along with the normal assortment of produce offerings: strawberries, blueberries, apples, tomatoes, asparagus, onions, garlic, herbs, carrots-and the list trails on. It's a special spot, and one that I wish were so much closer to Boston. It's about an hour's drive, but one that's well worth the journey. 

Nearby: Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Early May is the time of the forsythia and daffodil, when the color yellow reigns over the New England landscape. At Tower Hill Botanic Garden in nearby Boylston, you can find both in abundance, though the woodland trees are still bare against the spring sky. It's an hour's drive west from Boston, and the daffodil field, containing 25,000 bulbs, is worth every minute of it. It was like a dream, even with clouds threatening rain. 

There is an apple orchard, numerous gardens, and two very romantic greenhouses, including an Orangerie and Lemon House, better known to those with green thumbs as a "Limonaia." From the highest point, one can see Wachusett Reservoir in the distance. This is a place of not only quiet, introspective walks like the one I had myself, but also of weddings and flower shows and concerts.  Even yoga. 

Then there are the woods. The trails are wonderfully maintained (no doubt due to the high entry fee), with an intriguing mix of classical elements, including various sculptures and shrines like the "Folly" or the "Temple of Peace." It was cold when I went, but I lingered in the "Inner Park" and beside the mossy steps, wishing I had brought along Edith Hamilton's Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Instead, I delightfully studied the little fairy houses along the pathways, constructed in honor of Sibylle Olfers Story of the Root Children -a very nice surprise.  Go to Tower Hill Botanic Garden to chase the whimsical, but also to embrace the color of the season. Go to seek the daffodil.