Sunday was a lovely, but incredibly unseasonably cool August day. Rather than do our usual trip to the park, we took Ms. Z and headed up to the Chicago Botanic Gardens (something of a misnomer as the gardens are actually located Highland Park, a northern suburb). It was a lovely day in the garden and while I didn't work on the sock project I brought along, John* and I got some lovely pictures for inspiration.
Unlike many of our trips where John and I roam all over the garden, with a toddler in tow, we had to focus on a few sections that we wanted to see and felt she would enjoy. Our first stop was the Model Railroad Garden -- which costs extra, but which captured her attention for almost an hour and is really a delight for both children and adults. All the "scenery" for the model railroad is created using natural products. I loved the Wrigley Field model because the lights over the field were created with acorn tops. Most of the bridges that the model trains cruised over were made of grape vine. All the train stops are meant to be historic/significant US locations. The other stops on our visit were the Waterfall Garden (many steps to climb -- good for wearing out little people), the Japanese Garden (a place you want to stop and meditate in), the Rose Garden (which has a lovely fountain that Z enjoyed splashing in, and the rotunda area just after the visitor center which has four different pools and an assortment of water flowers. The Lotus that John photographed was particularly stunning. Z also enjoyed some other fountain areas and was enchanted by the large white swans that reside in the main pond.
I love the deep colors of the late summer gardens. They are like the grand finale of a fireworks display. At once stunning and engaging, but also a reminder that the end of the show is near and that fall is just around the corner.
* to give credit where credit is due, John was definitely the big winner with the pictures today, the Water Lilly, Bird and Lotus are all pictures he took.
Anemone from the Waterfall Garden
Stately Bird in the Japanese Garden
Yellow Lotus
Water Lilly
Wrigley Field Made of Natural Components in the Model Railroad Garden
Ms. Z on a Bench in the Waterfall Garden
Unlike many of our trips where John and I roam all over the garden, with a toddler in tow, we had to focus on a few sections that we wanted to see and felt she would enjoy. Our first stop was the Model Railroad Garden -- which costs extra, but which captured her attention for almost an hour and is really a delight for both children and adults. All the "scenery" for the model railroad is created using natural products. I loved the Wrigley Field model because the lights over the field were created with acorn tops. Most of the bridges that the model trains cruised over were made of grape vine. All the train stops are meant to be historic/significant US locations. The other stops on our visit were the Waterfall Garden (many steps to climb -- good for wearing out little people), the Japanese Garden (a place you want to stop and meditate in), the Rose Garden (which has a lovely fountain that Z enjoyed splashing in, and the rotunda area just after the visitor center which has four different pools and an assortment of water flowers. The Lotus that John photographed was particularly stunning. Z also enjoyed some other fountain areas and was enchanted by the large white swans that reside in the main pond.
I love the deep colors of the late summer gardens. They are like the grand finale of a fireworks display. At once stunning and engaging, but also a reminder that the end of the show is near and that fall is just around the corner.
* to give credit where credit is due, John was definitely the big winner with the pictures today, the Water Lilly, Bird and Lotus are all pictures he took.
Stunning photos! I really enjoyed them -- almost devoured the lotus. And of course Ms. Z is stunning too. Her face has changed so much in the past year. Certainly not a baby any more.
The winning picture is the one of Miss Z, she gets prettier and prettier every day!
Your pictures certainly are beautiful, as is, of course, your little girl. It sounds like a lovely and memorable day (not immortalized in your blog, as a good day should be.) I bet that stately bird is just waiting to gobble up some of the coy in the Japanese garden. I saw an osprey grab one in our Japanese Garden. The staff were out shouting at him and waving their brooms and rakes, but to no avail.
Oops! I meant to say "Now immortalized in your blog!" I'm not a very accurate typist.
You and John both took some stunning photos. So beautiful.
The picture of your daughter is beautiful. She is really a joy, I'm sure.
It's funny how quickly childen lose the baby face and start to be little kids instead of babies. Ms Z has grown into quite the little girl. What a beautiful smile!
Great photo & Ms Z is really starting to look like a little girl - I've noticed the same thing about my granddaughter over the past 7 or 8 months. You are the 2nd Chicago area blogger to write about the Botanic Garden in the past week. Now I am anxious to go - but it'll be a while. Too many commitments over the next couple of weeks (but we are going to visit SO's brother's property near South Beloit Labor Day weekend - he bought the land & has been building everything on it himself [including an aerial tram style ride over the creek & a theatre!] So at least we'll be breathing clean air & enjoying nature. We took my grandson to the Botanic Garden to ee the RR Gardens a couple of years ago (they were 4 & ^ & the baby was about 8 or 9 month old.) As Thomas the Tank Engine fanatics, they loved it. Of course, the grown ups loved WF the most! It is such a lovely, soothing place - we are lucky to have it near here.
Wow, she has grown up so quickly... seems like just yesterday she was Baby Z.