Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2007. We took Mattie to Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland to see their Holiday Lights display. Their lights display is like NO OTHER! Mainly because you have to park, get our of your car, and walk through the winter wonderland of gardens. The gardens are all aglow with lights. Some of the displays are animated and the whole experience is truly magical. I have only done this ONCE, but I still remember it quite vividly. After our walk, we then went inside the visitors center to warm up with cookies and hot chocolate (of course Mattie wasn't touching hot chocolate with a ten foot pole!). Inside the visitors center is this adorable frog statue and we got Mattie to pose with this cutie. It is one of my favorite photos!
Quote of the day: The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible: The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden. If you don't want paradise, you are not human; and if you are not human, you don't have a soul. ~ Thomas More
Brookside Gardens is Montgomery County's incomparable, award-winning 50-acre public display garden situated within Wheaton Regional Park. Included in the gardens are several distinct areas: Aquatic Garden, Azalea Garden, Butterfly Garden, Children's Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Style Garden, Trial Garden, Rain Garden and the Woodland Walk. The Formal Gardens areas include a Perennial Garden, Yew Garden, the Maple Terrace, and Fragrance Garden. Brookside Gardens also feature two conservatories for year-round enjoyment.
What is hard to believe though is that visiting this park is FREE. It is a very serene, tranquil, and a beautiful spot. We haven't visited this park for years, but it is a place we used to take Mattie to at all times of the year.
The park has been undergoing some renovations, but I can safely say the last time I came to the park these wonderful metal butterfly sculptures did not exist. I just love them! They caught my immediate attention at the entrance.
One of the most popular gardens to visit at the park is the rose garden. This garden is filled with color, fragrance, water elements, benches to sit down and reflect, and people snapping all sorts of photographs.
My camera does not do these Tahitian roses justice, because these were a vibrant orange. Practically bursting out at you and there were so many of them all in bloom.
Throughout the garden there were fountains. This was one of them.... the white stuff at the bottom was foam.
The rose garden
This rose was not only an amazing color but its fragrance was absolutely intoxicating.
To me, the rose garden was the ideal place to sit and reflect. Surrounded by birds, beautiful sights, sounds of water, and the smell of roses.
Walking through the rose garden, you next reach the perennial garden, which is another special place. Again filled with special water elements.
The colors of plants within the perennial garden seemed like something you would find on a canvas.
There was even a cardinal
hanging out on display!
This space is called the Fragrance Garden. To us it was a bit of a misnomer, but that is only because we missed most of the gardenias and magnolias blooming. However, I can imagine how this space must be with these flowers in bloom. However what I do recall about this space is the fountain in the middle and being here with Mattie years ago! Mattie would not have been interested in the plants, but the fountain intrigued him and I remember checking it out and spending time by it with him.
I also remember seeing a similar sight with Mattie years ago! We loved it back then, as I loved it today. A mama goose with her goslings. Mattie always loved seeing mother animals with their young and eagerly pointed such sightings out to me.
There is a man made lake in the heart of the Gardens. At the entrance to the lake, is this stone, which reads.....
Linger here and reflect on those lost to violence. Hope for a more peaceful world. Seek a reverence for life among all people.
Linger here and reflect on those lost to violence. Hope for a more peaceful world. Seek a reverence for life among all people.
[This is a memorial site for those who lost their lives during the sniper attack in DC in 2002.]
Near the stone above lies this second stone, which reads:
During the summer and fall in 2002 the senseless violence of two men caused the deaths of 13 innocent people. Although the tragedies occurred in several parts of the country sniper fire in the Washington, DC area abruptly ended the lives of 10 men and women. The stones here engraved with the names of those 10, bear witness to the fact that they lived and worked among us - and they are not forgotten. Their lives, each unique but all too short are forever part of our collective story. This place also honors the kindness of so many who supported their families and whose active compassion still strengths the bonds of community.
During the summer and fall in 2002 the senseless violence of two men caused the deaths of 13 innocent people. Although the tragedies occurred in several parts of the country sniper fire in the Washington, DC area abruptly ended the lives of 10 men and women. The stones here engraved with the names of those 10, bear witness to the fact that they lived and worked among us - and they are not forgotten. Their lives, each unique but all too short are forever part of our collective story. This place also honors the kindness of so many who supported their families and whose active compassion still strengths the bonds of community.
The third stone lists the ten names of the local victims of the sniper attacks who are remembered at this site.
The stones overlook this beautiful lake.
The lake is filled with life..... goslings, geese, turtles, frogs, and fish.
As Peter was doing his goose impression, this fellow was honking right back at Peter! They were communicating. I caught it on camera!
I entitle this "Turtle and frog!" You can clearly see the turtle on the left, but look closely.... the green frog is in the lower right hand corner.
Near the lake is a labyrinth.
A labyrinth is a silent walking mediation, which is different from a maze. A maze is designed to challenge the mind with choices and dead ends. Labyrinths have one clear winding path leading the walker from the edge to the center.
A labyrinth is a silent walking mediation, which is different from a maze. A maze is designed to challenge the mind with choices and dead ends. Labyrinths have one clear winding path leading the walker from the edge to the center.
Recognize Froggy from up above? Well he no longer sits on a big bench, so you can't really sit beside him and touch him, but you get the gist of the before and after photo tonight! To me this frog doesn't look the same, but Peter assures me it is the same frog. I propped my Mattie Miracle visor on top of Froggy, and frankly I think he looks good in orange.
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