We came back to Lansing from the lake so I could go to some doc appointments and that Rick and Kitty could prepare to go meet the grands (and her great grands) over the weekend. But it was a lovely day and a good time to take Kitty on a walk through the beautiful gardens at Michigan State University.
Late August is a lovely time to visit. Almost everything is still in full bloom. We enjoyed time in the perennial garden first. It was filled with sunflowers, lavender, hibiscus and many other glorious blooms.
I'm not sure what these were but they were enormous and I loved them!
The rose garden was looking a bit the worse for wear, but still a lovely spot.
As we looked at this wonderful tree (with a sign that said "do not climb"), we shared stories of climbing trees we'd loved in the past. This one was magnificent! This was even better than the apple tree in my back yard as a child that I remember fondly!
After we visited that garden we moved over to the Children's Garden. This is my favorite and I've written about it here many times before.
Things were in full bloom. I loved these sunflowers.
So did the bees!
And I loved this photo of Kitty standing with them!
The Monet bridge over a small pond offered a lovely area for contemplation.
So, we took a little break!
.
I took Kitty into the Alice in Wonderland maze. And no, I didn't lose her there!
Then we checked out the musical section. They have directions for playing several songs with your feet!
There are three "enchanted houses" (huts made of grapevines.)
Kitty checked them out to look for fairies. (None today!)
I especially loved the zinnias.
The bees and bugs were having a field day with this bloom -- a sunflower strain?
This is the entry to "Mary Russell's" Secret Garden.
We checked out the pizza garden, the Peter Rabbit garden, the herb and salad gardens and many others. Lovely, colorful signs pointed the way!
I was wild about these paper butterflies tucked into some of the garden beds.
The paper appears to be marbled or painted, folded accordion style and adhered together. They were then covered in something to provide some strength and waterproofing. I think it was something more than ModPodge -- they were still flexible but held their shape when you tapped on the wing.
The put on sticks an stuck into the gardens. I loved these! (If anyone has made them and has official directions, please direct me there!)
All in all, it was a lovely time and I was glad I could show her this wee jewel in our crown.
She's back in Texas now, after a visit with her great grandlittles! Here we have four generations on the Acklin side.
Makes me smile.
Sharing with: Pink Saturday / Share Your Style / Love Your Creativity / All About Home
65 comments:
University has a wonderful garden- must have money to spare! So nice that you could spend the day there. Flora Jane had the same sort of paper butterflies at her BD party all around. I didn't think to ask about them, they look fairly simple to make.
The little boys legs are getting stretched to be long! Handsome guys!
I love zinnia too.
Makes me smile, too. Looks like a great visit, and a good time for everyone. Your photos from the MSU botanical gardens are gorgeous. And even though many of them already look like artworks, I sure would love to see your watercolor renditions of these someday...
Gorgeous gardens ~ thanks for taking us along for the stroll!
The really tall plants with the fluffy pink flowers are, I believe, called "Queen of the Prairie" and are a native plant popular with bees and other pollinators.
The tall plants with the fluffy pink blossoms are called "Queen of the Prairie" and are very poplular with our pollinators.
What a great place! I love the last photo!
That children's garden looks so appealing...
I tried to identify the sunflower-like flowers with my Seek App, but it only wanted to identify the insects, especially the "Goldenrod Soldier Beetle" on the left. :-)
How wonderful to get 4 generations together! The park you visited is fantastic, I wanna go there and play! Have a great weekend, hugs, Valerie
Wonderful photos of a special visit
Hello,
It looks like Kitty enjoyed the walk through the gardens. Lovely series of photos, the flowers are beautiful. great shot of her and the great-grandchildren. Have a happy weekend.
That garden is so lovely. What a nice place to bring Ricks Mom. And who doesn’t love zinnias? That tall plant is called Pye plant here or also joe pye plant. I noticed some people called it queen of the prairies, which is a much lovely name than pye plant. I have a small cluster a friend gave me and I am thinking to get more for my bee garden next year. Happy Labor Day weekend. Hugs Erika
I'm smiling too Jeanie after walking with you through this lovely garden. How nice all the flowers were still in bloom, the zinnias are so pretty. Looking for faries is always high on my list anytime, sorry you didn't see any this day. Such a nice visit for all of you. The grands are certainly growing tall now. Have a nice Saturday.
Kitty looks terrific and the garden was a great place to take her. I have no doubt that she had a wonderful visit. Too bad she had to go back to Texas, poor thing. The plant that a couple of people have called Queen of the Prairie looks more like Joe-pye Weed to me. It is very regal in any event. Like Kitty. We are looking forward to seeing Rick next week.
What a great place to visit! Kitty looks like she had a glorious time, and you were the ideal hostess.
Ricks mom is amazing..great group shot too.I bet she slept well at night!☺️
Good morning, Jeanie. I enjoyed the garden walk this morning with you and Kitty. I find it most interesting to see gardens in different areas of our country. Sunflowers and zinnias are two favorites. Wishing you a lovely Labor Day Weekend!
What a lovely garden! I would enjoy strolling through it.
The gardens look just beautiful, and it's a pleasure to see Kitty enjoying them with you.
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
She looks good, Kitty. I always look at the person, then at the surroundings.
No flowers will cheer me up if the person amid them looks bad physically or otherwise.
Oh, Jeanie, what a lovely time touring the gardens you had with Kitty. How pretty all the flowers were and how nice the weather was mild and pleasant. It is so hot and humid here no one wants to be outside long.
Those paper butterflies look neat. I'm sure there is a tutorial on YouTube. I just looked it up, and there is. How to make origami butterflies. It says it is an easy craft.
Happy Labor Day weekend.
Hi Jeanie, thanks for sharing your garden trip to MSU. The children's garden looks like so much fun. I will put it on my list - I visit gardens whenever I travel! My mom, sister, aunt and I take a special trip each summer to the Green Bay Botanical garden. Highly recommended! Kerry
Beautiful gardens, with lots of interesting features! I think the blossoms with the bee and bug are definitely some type of sunflower.
Loved seeing MSU gardens and Kitty and all her boys🥰. Enjoyed the photos 😍
What a wonderful garden! We call that plant "Joe Pye weed". It's a native here and loved by the pollinators so very popular these days. So many flowers in that garden, and I love the structural elements, too.
Jeanie, I thoroughly enjoyed this post. Kitty looks so happy and I also like the photo of her with the sunflowers. My other two favorites are the Monet bridge and the four generations at the end. That really is the best! Have a lovely weekend and week ahead!
Beautiful photos Jeanie. The first one with the "Monet" bridge is just stunning! What a magical garden. Love those paper butterflies, a great addition to any garden.
Four generations! Looks like Kitty had a great time.
The butterflies were so pretty--being a crafter they got me googling! There are a lot of videos on youtube for oragami butterflies of several shapes and sizes. I searched for how to waterproof paper and there are a lot of suggestions that seem time consuming...but...clear polyurethane coating in a spray can sounded like a winner to me. Looks like they used heavy wire, too. If you didn't waterproof them you could still stick them into houseplants indoors. What a clever idea. :)
That one plant that you didn’t know, may have been a Joe Pye cultivar. We have one in the backyard. The ordinary variety is pretty much considered a weed by many. Bees are very attracted to ours. I think I am posting bees on our Joe on Monday. It was an attempt at macro photographing bees but they move quickly, and it was also windy. Anyway, the MSU gardens looks great. Daughter 2 spent a week at a softball camp there many moons ago.
nice post loved the garden...Nice place to stroll through...lovely..Have a splendid weekend.
Wow, four generations, lovely, special!
All pics are great, but this sure is standing out!
To family!!!
The gardens are green and lush and abundant with many different flowers and plants. What a lovely walk Rick's mom had walking through. In my old town was a rose garden, and I really miss visiting there. That Children's Garden is delightful, and I love that little bridge. The Alice in Wonderland would be a blast for children to go through. And the musical steps! Reminds me of the movie BIG with Tom Hanks. I would love to walk through the "enchanted houses" with the bright zinnias and paper butterflies. Those are so pretty. I think I will share them with Nel - maybe she can make some for the fairy garden she has at her house. And the photo of four generations is so special, and a picture to be framed for sure. Thanks for sharing the garden with us, Jeanie. I enjoyed coming along with you.
~Sheri
What a delightful garden! (and, what a long visit)
For a while I though you took your CAT for a walk through the gardens and what a lovely garden you toured. The weather has been perfect for enjoying Mother Nature at her finest.
What a beautiful garden 🍀💚🍀 love the zinnias…my favorite…happy Sunday love Ria and Leaf 🍀🐾🍀💗
Terrific shots!
Beautiful garden, love the fairy house. I climbed my share of trees as a kid too!
The flower you didn't know looks enough like our native Joe Pye weed that it might be a cultivar. I sometimes find it in east Texas, but not on our prairies; east Texas is far more like your environment, so it makes sense. That four-generation photo is wonderful! My aunt in Kansas City recently traveled to Oklahoma for the making of a five-generation photo.
What a lovely post. And rhank you for sharing these gardens. They are awesome. Just looking at them brings tranquility and joy.
A lovely place to visit. I know that plant but the name eludes me, sorry.
Such a beautiful garden and so lush for this time of year. I'm glad you had a chance to visit with Kittie and that she had a chance to see her loved ones!
What a stunning garden and place to visit!! Looks like a great time! Thanks so much for always stopping by!!
Hugs,
Debbie
I like it when visitors come to stay too as we can show them around our neighbourhood and beyond. What a lovely garden! Your photos capture the beauty as well as the fun of the interactive trail. I'm glad Kitty enjoyed time with the young ones too.
WOW! The gardens are beautiful!
I enjoyed taking the stroll with you.
Hugs and blessings, Jeanie.
So beautiful
Super post
Super post
I love the Monet Bridge in that garden! So lovely! I am glad that Kitty enjoyed her vacation in Michigan. It was nice of you and Rick to show her around. Blessings!
Hi Jeanie! Looks like Kitty had lots of fun! Everything is so pretty! I love a children's garden!
You really live in a great area with the University and other sights up north. You know I'm mad for gardens and this one is so wonderful. I'd never want to leave.
Absolutely wondrous.
Thanks for letting us tag along.
That is such a beautiful garden! I love that Monet bridge.
Glad you were able to take Kitty to see those beautiful gardens. And I love that she checked for fairies.
Beautiful garden. Loved that entrance to the fairy garden too. We took my mom once to the Meijer garden. That was nice too! Janice
Now that is a wonderful garden to stroll through and enjoy. Loved everything about it, but the flowers were just the best. That last picture of 4 generations was precious.
That garden is gorgeous! I was kind of bummed that I was rarely on campus at the University of ND when the campus was most beautiful! I did summer school one year but besides that I was not on campus in the summer months. We did not have a garden like that, though, but the grounds were very beautiful!
Sounds like Kitty had a really wonderful visit! The photo of the 4 generations is priceless. I am kicking myself for not getting a photo with my grandma when we saw her in August.
What a garden! It is beautiful and how delightful that they have all these different senctions. I would have rested near the Monet bridge as well. Kitty looks fantastic and I'm sure she enjoyed this visit very much. I would think the plant is Joe Pye Weed.
Such a pretty garden and children's garden! It looks so well tended and so full of flowers. It looks like Kitty had a wonderful time!
Jeanie, such a fabulous garden. So much to see. Kitty looks like she really enjoyed herself. It would be heavenly to visit and take in all of that beauty.
My friend's son went to MSU, and I'd heard the campus was beautiful, but had no idea it was home to such a spectacular garden. The 4-generations picture is a treasure, for sure.
Well I just discovered what I am doing Sunday now!! I am driving to Owosso tomorrow to pick up geckos (lol) and was hoping to swing by the capitol building, but I think we will just head back out that way minus geckos and take in the Children's Garden as well!! That looks like a wonderful place to visit.
What more can I add, Jeanie, after reading this very detailed post about the visit to the MSU botanical gardens. Again, you have been the tour guide to not only introduce us to a lovely place, but also to share Kitty’s experiences. It was nice to read about the garden and see her experiences. It looks like her visit was a happy one, especially at reuniting with the youngest family members.
What a beautiful selection of photographs from the gardens at Michigan State University, and that last family photograph is very special.
All the best Jan
What lovely gardens!
What a lovely park, and the Monet bridge is beautiful! Love the paper butterflies too. What a special time, 4 generations!
Jenna
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