The Hobbit's Middle-Earth Flower and Vegetable Garden

The Hobbit film set is home to a rustic year-round, working vegetable garden that one would expect to find in middle earth.  I took these pictures in February so these are their summer crops with plenty of sunflowers scattered throughout including colorful varieties of squash, tomatoes, corn, pumpkin and gourds. The Hobbits had an extensive agricultural system in the Shire but were not industrialized. The shire has rambling dirt paths and seasonal flowers, vegetables and fruit trees behind picket fences. There is well water near the garden as well as a working table, crates, woven baskets for gathering crops, saw horses, birdhouses, and make shift poles for supporting plant vines. Every item looked authentic including a scarecrow standing by its lonesome in a field of wildflowers.

This is the older version of the scarecrow from Lord of the Rings with Frodo and Sam in the field.

"The only brew for the brave and true...comes from the Green Dragon!"

During the Hobbiton Film set tour, we visited the Green Dragon Inn and received free brew.  I tried a glass of apple cider and it was cold, tasty and wonderful after a hot summer 2 hour tour.

 

The Green Dragon Inn was frequented by Hobbits from both Bywater and the neighboring settlement of Hobbiton. The Hobbit Frodo Baggins regularly visited the inn as did his friends Sam Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. Throughout the movie and the book, the inn is referenced to as a "great" place. One such example in when Merry and Pippin refer to the Inn in The Return of the King (film) when they are singing on a table at Edoras. Specifically, they sing "The Green Dragon (song)"

"Oh you can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry,
But you'll never find a beer so brown,

Oh you'll never find a beer so brown,

As the one we drink in our hometown,
As the one we drink in our hometown. You can keep your fancy ales,
You can drink them by the flagon,
But the only brew for the brave and true...
..Comes from the Green Dragon!!"

Bilbo Baggins "Good Morning" Bench

These are photos I took on the The Hobbiton film tour of Bilbo's bench at Bag End where he was approached by Gandalf the Grey looking for someone to go on an adventure.

"Bilbo Baggins: Good morning.

Gandalf the Grey: What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me a good morning, or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that it is a morning to be good on?

Bilbo Baggins: All of them at once, I suppose. [long pause] Can I help you?

Gandalf the Grey: That remains to be seen. I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure.

Bilbo Baggins: An adventure?... Well, I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner!"

Black Sands of Te Henga (Bethells Beach) New Zealand

Bethells Beach is a black sand beach in the Waitakere Range.  It is located at the mouth of the Waitakere River where it flows into the Tasman Sea.  From Auckland, it was a lovely drive with a long winding road through the country side to get to the beach.  The beach has been used as a filming location for the U.S. TV series Xena:  Warrior Princess and for the Disney movie "Avalon High".  The black sand glitters in the sun and the wind was so strong it was a struggle to walk on the beach.  Sand was whirling and hitting my face so hard I had to cover my eyes with my hands and try to hold on to my hat. I felt like I was in a sandstorm similar to the dust bowl in the US mid west.  It is a strong rugged coast with large dunes and was interesting to see but not my favorite kind of beach.  Living in Florida, I prefer white sandy beaches with plenty of seagulls and birds. The surfer club had members there but the beach was mostly deserted.  On this particular day, the sand was too hot and winds too strong to enjoy.