Visit this week (first week of April) for colorful tulips in full bloom and this weekend for the azaleas and dogwoods, just now popping.  The cherry blossoms are almost gone and the last of the daffodils are fading fast, so book your spring break getaway soon and enjoy the blooms!

Here are our top local restaurant picks for your Easter feast:

• Linwoods, a contemporary American restaurant located on Reisterstown Road less than 10 minutes from Gramercy, is offering a three-course Prix Fixe menu for $35.12 (excluding sales tax and beverages) (www.linwoods.com, 410-356-3030).
• The Oregon Grille, located in a gorgeous renovated stone farmhouse in Baltimore County’s horse country, again just minutes from Gramercy,  offers traditional American cuisine and is open on Easter for brunch and dinner.  (www.theoregongrille.com, 410-771-0505)
• The Manor Tavern, another traditional American restaurant located in Monkton just 15 minutes from the Mansion, is offering brunch seatings at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Easter egg hunts at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and full Easter dinner at 4 p.m.  (www.themanortavern.com, 410-771-8155)

If you’re looking for a tasty and plentiful Easter brunch, consider the Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys on Falls Road (410-532-6900 x216 for reservations), featuring an omelet station, Belgian waffle station, fruit-filled crepes, seafood display including steamed shrimp, smoked salmon, warm crab dip and more, carving stations including leg of lamb and spiral cut ham, a variety of side dishes, desserts, complimentary mimosas and a guest appearance by the Easter Bunny himself!

We recommend advance reservations so make your plans now!

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Mark your calendars for our Garden Blossoms & Spring Tea on Sunday, May 6th and Sunday, May 20th from 1 – 4 p.m. – a perfect afternoon to share with a special lady in your life in celebration of Mother’s Day!

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Hope to see you at Gramercy this spring!

KOINONIA FOUNDATION  (closed)
Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Ten years of periodic prayer and retreat, in response to world needs
during the era of World War II, preceded the emergence of Koinonia
Foundation into working reality in 1951. (“Koinonia,” a term used
often by the early church, is a Greek word for “community.”) The
Foundation acquired a 44-acre estate in the Green Spring Valley
north of Baltimore, and soon launched a program, and community life,
featuring retreat, study, spiritual community – and training to take
literacy, agriculture, health, and similar practical skills into the
undeveloped world. Much of the Peace Corps’ program was modeled
after Koinonia’s. The community’s center of gravity was nonsectarian
Christianity, with strong Quaker influences.

Koinonia’s life had two phases. The first, lasting from 1950 to
1970, featured the philosopy, purpose, and programs of the founders.
The second phase included a shift from the original orientation to
“New Age” and wholistic activities and “the alternate semester.”
During this time many of the community’s original members and
friends continued to engage the place as a center of prayer, study,
and retreat.

The community had a multigenerational resident population, with
several resident staffers / instructors living there over its entire
life, and a total population of up to about eighty people at any
given time. (Short-term retreatants and students, and some renters,
were included in the foundation.) This diverse group – typically
ranging in age from conception to the mid-80s – was one of
Koinonia’s great strengths.

Koinonia closed its doors in 1985, but many of its people continue
in roles of spirit, learning, and leadership around the country, and
around the world. The Foundation continues as a small grant-writing
organization to the present day.

Join us for a spring celebration of garden gazing, tea sipping, and delightful conversation!

• House & Garden Tours
• 4-course Afternoon Tea
• Door Prizes
• Gift Shop Discounts (Browse our sale items for perfect Mother’s Day gift ideas!)

May 6, 2012 & May 20, 2012

1 p.m.—4 p.m.

$29 per person plus tax and gratuity

Space is limited, reservations and  payment required in advance.

All ages welcome.

Call 410-486-2405 for reservations!

High Tea Menu

Hors D’oeuvres

Dijon Deviled Eggs

Assortment of Brie Cheese

with fresh seasonal fruit display

Tea Sandwiches

Watercress and cucumber with fresh dill

Egg salad with cayenne pepper

Smoked salmon

Quiche Florentine squares

Cajun chicken salad

Assorted Scones

served with raspberry sauce on the side

Desserts

Mini lemon tarts & brownies

Served with a selection of English and herbal teas

Tea menu prepared by Hunt Valley Catering and presented by the innkeepers at Gramercy Mansion.

My very favorite shrub is daphne aureo-marginata because:

1. Long and early bloom

2. Extremely fragrant filling the whole rear garden of Gramercy with a sweet aroma

3. Looks evergreen.  Does not lose leaves until spring when the new leaves push through the flowers.

4. Leaves are highly glossy and fleshy with a lovely white margin on the edge.

Daphne Aureo-Marginata

My second favorite shrub is mahonia:

1. Interesting year around with yellow flowers and blue berries

2. Evergreen with serrated leaves

3. Grows quickly and easily pruned

Leatherleaf Mahonia

Roll out the carpet and your reservations for spring at Gramercy. Believe it or not, we had our first outdoor elopement February 18 at the new gazebo. Here’s the schedule!

February - Snowdrops

First snowdrops in February

March – first daffodils, daphne

First Daffodils in March

April – Beginning with magnolia and cherry trees, Virginia bluebell, bridal wreath, vinca, tulips, forsythia, bleeding heart, pulmonaria and ending with azaleas, forget-me-not, lilacs, weeping peach, dogwood, viburnum and many others

Magnolia tree in full bloom during April

May – Continuation of late April plants plus lilies of the valley, English Bluebells, allium, and columbine with iris, peonies, foxglove, rhododendron and roses at the end of May

May Virginia Bluebells at Gramercy

It’s spring in the Gramercy basement! Cell packs of 400’s have arrived and all of our planting rooms are filled with repotted plants growing amazingly beautiful. We have finally located a great organic soil medium called Sunshine that really makes these small seedlings into instant sturdy plants. Olinda is the expert with careful fingers that divide and multiply. You will see the results outside from late April through the first frost.

It’s perfect weather (temperatures in the fifties most days) for a winter stroll especially along the Gramercy gardens. Winter colors light up our May blooming azaleas and Fire Power Nandina. Daphne Aureo Marginata is budding now and will bloom in the next two weeks with scents that permeate the whole upper garden. Snowdrops are abundant along paths and dells. And don’t forget the new gazebo with its stately hollies and mahonia. Birds are singing. The garden is a most tranquil place.

We recommend pruning of roses in February. Francisco is our master pruner. He likes to let light into the center of the bush and trim any crossing branches. This Knock Out Rose will grow six feet tall but Francisco has pruned it to half its size. See before and after pictures below.

Knock –Outs are our favorites. No spraying is needed and it blooms heavily in spring and fall with many intermittent blooms in between. This year has been especially unusual with blooms and foliage all the way through December.

Sunday, February 12th

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Gramercy Mansion

Bring your favorite sweetie or a group of friends to share a fun-filled afternoon, including:

• Four-course high tea service,
• Guided tours of the Mansion,
• Craft supplies and instruction for creating a Valentine for your sweetheart,
• Door prize drawing for a FREE overnight stay!

$29 per person plus tax and gratuity

For reservations, contact Maria at 410-486-2405.

Payment required at time of reservation.

All ages welcome!

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High Tea Menu

Hors D’oeuvres

Dijon Deviled Eggs

Assortment of Brie Cheese

with fresh seasonal fruit display

Tea Sandwiches

Watercress and cucumber with fresh dill

Egg salad with cayenne pepper

Smoked salmon

Quiche Florentine squares

Cajun chicken salad

Assorted Scones

served with raspberry sauce on the side

Desserts

Mini lemon tarts & brownies

Served with

A selection of English and herbal teas

Tea menu prepared by Hunt Valley Catering and presented by the innkeepers at Gramercy Mansion.