Of all the fun things we visited in Dallas, my favorite place was the Dallas Arboretum. A lot of that had to do with our company – a 2-year-old boy who couldn’t wait to explore the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.
The 66-acre Dallas Arboretum requires at least half a day to appreciate. The supremely manicured gardens and pathways seem to wind through the grounds endlessly. Our visit coincided with two of the Arboretum’s most popular events – The Twelve Days of Christmas and Autumn at the Arboretum.
Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas celebrates the famous Christmas carol with twelve Victorian gazebos that match the lyrics. As your journey takes you through the park, you can sing along as you go from a partridge in a pear tree all the way to twelve drummers drumming.
Seven swans a-swimming…
Autumn at the Dallas Arboretum
Over 65,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash come together to form the Pumpkin Village. Here, you can walk through a general store made of floor to ceiling pumpkins or browse the pumpkin patch for your perfect carver.
We followed the lead of my little cousin Mason as he went from pumpkin to pumpkin.
Children’s Adventure Garden
Mason loved the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden. Even before we went in, I asked “Who’s ready to explore the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden?!” and he emphatically responded by running toward the entrance while yelling “Meeeeeeeee!” If you can’t tell, I also just like saying the full, proper name of the garden as much as possible.
Here, little kids and big kids can learn about earth’s plants, animals and early civilizations. They even have a section dedicated to sustainable energy and farming principles that children can experience first-hand through activity stations.
The rest of the garden
There are many theme gardens, 19 in all, that exhibit a full range of botanical beauty. One of my favorites was called “A Woman’s Garden” – not because I’m so in touch with my feminine side, but because it is filled with sculpture and features a very nice reflecting pond.
Visit the Dallas Arboretum
The Dallas Arboretum is open daily at 9 a.m. until 5 p.m with occasional closures for holidays or other unexpected natural events. Visit their website for the latest information.
