Mercer house, Savannah, Georgia

Gotta’ get back here and find a way into some of these back gardens. Great parks. Some of the most gracious homes in the country. The 22 public squares that make up the street grid make for a completely charming journey unlike any other city in the country.

Above is the the formal front garden of the Mercer House, Home of Johnny Mercer’s (singer & writer of Moon River) family as well as the

A Forsyth Park sidewalk
with its canopy of Live Oak Trees, covered in Spanish Moss.

actual setting, and the movie set for, the true story of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It bothers me that the cool-looking palm on the right isn’t also on the left of the steps. Ruins the symmetry of the formal garden.

Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss are all over the city. Our daughter thought they looked like ghost trees. Did you know that the term “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” comes from the the fact that, in the past, mattresses (and Model T seat cushions, incidentally) were made with Spanish Moss for stuffing? And there were sometimes bugs in the moss. Gross, but true.

If you’re a retired northerner looking to get to somewhere warm during the winter that is NOT Florida, consider Savannah.

Favorite thing: If I were charged with having to design a city with charm and graciousness, I would have to start with unique street grid of squares.

Thursday, December 20, 2007