Love's labors found

Houmas House like ‘waking up in paradise’

Courtesy photo/Pam Graney Houmas House in Darrow, La., was a booming sugar plantation but had fallen into disrepair until it was rescued and restored by New Orleans businessman Kevin Kelly.
Courtesy photo/Pam Graney Houmas House in Darrow, La., was a booming sugar plantation but had fallen into disrepair until it was rescued and restored by New Orleans businessman Kevin Kelly.

Not everyone adores New Orleans. I accept that. Yes, there is a very visible homeless population. Yes, the French Quarter can be crowded, and Bourbon Street smells like any busy bar on a Saturday night. Yes, you'll walk your feet off up to your knees. And no, it's not a cheap place to vacation -- there are very few $1 menus or $2 happy hours.

But every year I come home so excited after a week in my favorite city that I want to share it with you -- in hopes you can see it through my eyes and fall in love. New Orleans is magical, a uniquely European city poised on the constant edge of destruction by the water that made it a thriving seaport 300 years ago. Perhaps it's that vulnerability that makes every moment in New Orleans seem memorable.

This year, our annual journey -- a family trip with my "sisters by choice" and one bemused brother-in-law -- began at Houmas House, a restored sugar plantation about an hour outside the city in Darrow, La. Transformed from a 1700s French trader's house to a Classical Revival mansion in 1829, after many years and many owners Houmas House was lovingly rescued in 2003 by Kevin Kelly, a New Orleans businessman. After extensive restoration of the main house, Kelly began to add other structures to the 38 acres -- places to hold parties, have dinners and spend the night -- and now he's building the 28,000-square-foot Great River Road Museum and Interpretive Center, highlighting the history of the Lower Mississippi River and how it helped create the culture of Louisiana. It's a $15 million investment.

Simply put, I worship at Kevin Kelly's feet, not just for putting all the money he has into this beautiful place but for loving it, too. (He still lives in the main house!) Of course, I'm pretty sure no one loves it more than the head gardener, a gentle man and gentleman named Craig Black, who has been there for 45 years. I got to spend one evening chatting with him about his gardens, which include lotus ponds and orchids, ancient oak trees draped with Spanish moss, flower beds with fountains and ever-changing artwork tucked in among the blossoms -- plus greenhouses to make it all flow seamlessly from season to season.

Black talks gardening with intense passion and great knowledge, but every time we've chatted, he's said one thing that sticks with me: He gets to wake up every morning in paradise -- and then gets to decide what it looks like. He is a very lucky man!

You can find out more about the gardens of Houmas House at houmashouse.com, where there are several videos featuring Black. If you're charmed into wanting to visit, please, take me with you!

Next time: This year I spoiled myself and once we hit the city, I saved my feet by taking traditional cabs, pedicabs and Uber cars around the Quarter. At the same time I conducted my own "Humans of New Orleans" interviews, enjoying the chance to see the city through the eyes of the people who live there. What I heard was funny, sad, inspiring and heartwarming. Stay tuned.

Becca Martin-Brown is an award-winning columnist and Features editor for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email her at [email protected].

NAN Profiles on 09/23/2018

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