Field Trip to Brookside Gardens...(pic heavy)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

It was the perfect day for this! My son took all of these except the ones he's in...


sawtooth holly


petunia


bee balm


cool kid


cool kid close up


cool kid likes fountains


burning bush (Don't worry Feds, I'm not being Freudian here)


green heron


same green heron, wider view


geese


ornamental grasses


some type of cypress...unlabeled, unfortunately


same cypress


Here's its trunk...I just felt drawn to this tree...


There's that cool kid again, walking the labyrinth


Turtle were in abundance, but it's tough to get a good pic of them...

[TZ]

1. Lovely place. I need to go back

My ex-bosses wife is a botanical artist who did the pictures on a lot of the plaques there. AND was teaching art classes there...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. I love their butterfly show, too...

but that's closed for the season.

Such a lovely place, and it's free for the public to enjoy. :D

[tigereye]

3. what beautiful gardens!

I need to see if there's one around here like that! I like that there are many fauna as well as flora.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. The park also has a fantastic playground/picnic area

and a nature center that we've yet to visit.

The gardens are open during the holidays with a walk-through light show which I've heard is spectacular.

[seemunkee]

6. Don't forget the carousel and train

Dog park, the lake(currently drained to get rid of snakeheads) and two skating rinks.
The park is huge.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. Thanks for mentioning it!

I did forget! I didn't know about the skating rinks. Are they outdoor? It's been awhile since I took Timmy to the playground.

I didn't realize they'd drained the lake. I hope they get rid of the damned snakeheads! I've heard they're pretty tasty, and easy to catch, so I may dust off the old fishing rod and see if I can catch some dinner one day.

We saw some huge koi over at the Japanese tea house...

[seemunkee]

5. Thank you for the pictures

My mother was a volunteer there. We had her memorial service there about this time of year in 2001.
The benches in the children's room are a gift from her memorial fund.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. What a lovely way to remember her!

How are you feeling these days? :hug:

[seemunkee]

9. I'm doing great

Had my one year scans and come out clean.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. Yes!

I'm so glad to hear it! :toast:

[Unvanguard]

10. I used to love that place.

:)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. No longer around?

It's still beautiful... :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. lovely...thanks for sharing. cool kid is pretty cute :-) n/t

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. Thanks!

I think so too...not that I'm biased or anything. ;-)

Glad you liked!

[barb162]

14. Lovely pictures and a very nice looking son. Where is this place?

It's gorgeous.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Just north of Washington DC...

in the MD suburbs. Thanks for checking it out! :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. My dear GoddessofGuinness!

Oh, what cool pics!

And I think your son is very cool, too!

Very cute smile!

I love parks like those...

So tranquil, and beautiful...

Thank you for sharing!

:hug:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. Thanks, Peggy...Here's one more...

When he took this one, my first thought was that it wouldn't look too great, because of the fence. But seeing it on the computer screen, I think it might be his best pic!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. That's very nice!

I like how the vines intertwine around the chain link...

The colors are quite vivid too!

Thanks for sharing...

:hi:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. Since the plant was on the other side of the garden fence,

it wasn't labelled. I'll have to see if I can find it in one of my wildflower books...

[appal_jack]

21. I'm pretty sure that this is called 'beautyberry'

Callicarpa, or beautyberry, is a native shrub that is not only gorgeous at this time of year, but provides good winter food for birds.

Also, while I am being a plant geek, I am pretty sure that what you labeled 'bee balm' is in fact a spider flower.

Gorgeous pics! Glad you and your son had such a fine time.

:hi:

-app

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. You're right about the spider flower...

Thanks for the correction!

Thanks also for the identity of the beauty berry...I'd not heard of that one before. :hi:

[LiberalEsto]

23. Oooooh, nice

I should get over there again. It's been a few years since I last went.

BTW, that flower you labeled bee balm is cleome.

Thanks to you and your son for the lovely pix.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. Thanks, app_farmer_rb mentioned my mislabel in his post...

"spider flower" is one of the common names...

[SallyMander]

25. Beeeautiful pics! Thanks for posting!

:hi:

I like all of them, but the one of the geese is especially neat!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Glad you like!

:hug:

[ThomCat]

27. You're son is getting big from the last photos I saw you post of him.

It looks like he had a good time too. :)

But you're not in any of the pictures. :(

I love botanical gardens. It's surprising that I've been to the botanical gardens in various cities, but not in NYC. We have, apparently, great botanical gardens in Brooklyn and the Bronx, but I just haven't gone because it's a bit of a trek, and I won't go alone.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

28. Well if I ever get up there, I'll take you, ok?

I'm hoping I can take my son to NYC for a couple of days to check out the Met. Art Museum and other cool sites... :hug:

[ThomCat]

29. I love the big museums.

The Met, MoMA, and The Museum of Natural History. I'd be very happy to play host and tour guide. :7

Ellis Island is an awesome museum, but the airport style security to get on the ferry to get there is outrageous, so I don't take people there very often anymore.