Powell Gardens visit

I discovered this garden by accident through their blog. What a lucky break it was for me! They now have 2 blogs. The first is here and the second is here. They have great articles and beautiful pictures of the property. Right now they have an instillation of bugs. The first one we saw was the Daddy Long Legs. We eventually saw them all and got a "bug bingo."

Matthew found the water elements the most interesting I think, because he kept sitting down to watch them.

I loved wandering through the Heartland Harvest Gardens and looking at all the beautiful structures that went with them. And the bed layout, be still my heart!

I can't begin to tell you how tired I am of photos loading wrong. Ok, as we were walking along a volunteer/staff member invited us in the garden to help dig potatoes. He had invited a family of kids before us and the whole family turned him down. But not us. We eagerly climbed in and helped for a minute.

As we went, I pointed out plants and told him to feel and smell things. Matthew started to feel and smell on his own, which thrilled me to no end. We felt every different type of fruit we saw growing on trees. Peaches round and fuzzy, apples round and smooth, figs a funny shape and on and on.

In the Caterpillar Courtyard, Matthew and I dug for worms, but we couldn't find any. It must have been too hot.

After exploring the whole Heartland Harvest Garden side, we decided it was time to run through the big fountain. We were soaked, but man it felt good. Next time Matthew, at least, will go in his swim trunks.

On their blog I had read about the Octopus Agave plant that only blooms once every 10 years and it was in bloom! I know I had to get in and see it for myself. I wasn't leaving till I located it! They named it Big Bird.

On our way to the water gardens, we ran across these cutouts and had to take pictures.

Didn't Matthew take a great photo?! *photo by Matthew

Beautiful beautiful is all I can say.

Matthew wanted to take this bloom, that he pulled down to smell, but I finally convinced him that another little guy just his height might want to smell the same plant and if he took it, then it wouldn't be there to smell. So he graciously agreed to move on.

The Wildflower Meadow with the ants instillation marching along.

The Rock and Waterfall Garden was so charming I wanted to build a tree house and move right in.

A photo of the Perennial Garden.

And finally a shot of some of the beautiful moving art they had placed around the property. I wish I had a couple at my house.

I knew while I was there I took alot of photos, but today when deciding what to show, I realized I took 105 photos! Wow! So this is a faction of what I saw, but believe me it's so beautiful there. The volunteers/staff are very friendly and willing to show you anything. The grounds are stunning. If you live close enough, take the time to drive there and explore. I assure you it will be amazing.