Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Sunken Garden

On Monday Michael took us on a surprise outing to Garfield Park's Sunken Gardens and Conservatory.

I had no idea we had such a place around here. Lilacs were everywhere:

We had so much fun walking around the conservatory -- seeing many things that do not grow in our part of the world. Pomegranates:

Papayas:
The children loved running around and finding things.

So many things reminded me of my childhood garden in Uganda.

And it was all so reminiscent of the Kibble Palace in Glasgow.

Color and beauty were everywhere.


It's wonderful for the children to see banana plants in person!
Hibiscus:

And a few overgrown goldfish:


Sugarcane -- which I wished the children could have tasted as well as seen:

Orchids hung everywhere. There was even a vanilla orchid, but it wasn't in bloom.

Isn't this one amazing!

And the pitcher plant!! I was so excited to show this to the children since we had just read about it in science.

Another plant which I'm thinking also has special "features" for obtaining nutrients:

We saw a number of citrus trees:
And the incredible-smelling gardenia:

This blossom from the Shaving Brush Tree was probably my favorite of the trip. Isn't it the coolest?! (This picture is especially for you, Uncle Bill)

And a cocoa tree!

Dejavu David?

"Mom, mom, look at this worm!!"

The grounds were laid out as a European formal garden. The inside was definately more interesting to me.

After our flower tour we played at several of the play areas and enjoyed a picnic lunch.
The lovely weather has moved on and we are still having rain. However, the glorious green of May is already showing and I don't mind the rain so much.
David is suffering from a double ear infection -- poor thing. The rest of us are busy with school, chores and trying to fit everything into today. :)

5 comments:

Amy K said...

How fun! I didn't know about that place either. How nice you were able to be outdoors before all the rain hit.

Hope David feels better!

Stephanie said...

Beautiful photos! I'll have to check that out sometime.

Margaret said...

The pictures are beautiful. I think your favorite is probably my favorite as well.

Tell David I hope he feels better, I just got over my ear infection.

Also, unfortunately, I won't be able to go to Knit Night this evening.

zheuzhyk said...

Hi Heather,

You might want to try going back in the summer. The gardens outside will be pretty in June and July. In the evenings when they have colored lights and the fountains on, and plants blooming - they make it very nice. And just to the west of the gardens is the MacAllister. For the five years that we were there, most Thursday evenings they had concerts there and we'd sit or lay back on the grass, bring our picnic supper, our little one would kick a little ball around and we'd listen to the music. Then maybe a walk through the gardens. And it was all free! We really enjoyed those summer evenings!

Ruth MacC said...

LOVE the photos Heather!