Miles of Tulips!

When I say this place is “eye candy”, I’m not kidding. 

This time of year, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is 66 acres of pure deliciousness.  Starting in February, thousands of spring bulbs start opening up and hundreds of spring flowering trees begin to burst forth in all their glory.  To be there in late March was the perfect timing.  I was in heaven.  An intensely colorful heaven.

A “Kodak Moment” Was Everywhere

To quote many an author, it was a “riot of color” just about everywhere you looked.   It was also a Mommy and Me day so it was a riot of kids too.  Kids in their (at that time) soon to be Easter finest being corralled by parents with cameras for as many photos as they could get before their offspring refused to cooperate or literally fell into the background of flowers.  Kids weren’t the only ones falling into the flowers.  Two ladies who asked to have their photo taken in front of tulips had a bit of trouble crouching down and, well, no flowers lost their lives, but a few probably wound up bruised (like the behind of one particular lady).

We also came across an artist who had set up her easel to get her “Kodak moment”.  She was painting a lovely scene of a gazebo surrounded by a sea of colorful flowers and trees.  Kids with their cell phones were drawn to her like flies to honey.  She kept getting asked if they could take a photo with her.  She was most gracious and very obliging to their requests.  To sit and paint there is now on my bucket list.  (Adoring fans!  Ha!!)

What I Like About the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

They didn’t skimp on anything here.  This whole place just blows me away… even when the wind isn’t blowing.  It’s so well laid out.  In summer, when the temps and the sun are baking you, there are so many places to stop and sit on beautifully shaded benches, both traditional (you know… park bench style) and non traditional (hewn from natural stone).  The pathways through the gardens are just lovely and there are numerous water features such as waterfalls, streams, and koi ponds that both entice and invite you to stop and linger awhile.  This visit, the wisteria was heavily in bloom and just beautiful at one of the waterfall areas. (Note to self… plant some on the back arbor.)  I’d put in a koi pond too, but then we would need to have critter control on speed dial.

It’s a first class arboretum.  And like some first class arboretums, this one also has an outdoor concert stage on the side of a hill which happens to have a view of the lake.  The day of my visit, numerous children were rolling down it and I was hard pressed not to lay down and join in the fun.  There are picnic areas, a designated walking trail for fitness buffs, and a lovely pavilion where the food was excellent.  (Try the Panini sandwiches… awesome, even if it took forever to make.)  The pavilion is set up where you sit outside and look out over a lovely terrace down to another beautifully landscaped water area surrounded by flowers, trees, grasses and pathways.  There’s also a viewing area, with comfy outdoor furniture, where I could have planted myself and stayed for several hours.

One view from the terrace.

Like I noted earlier (especially, this time of the year), the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is definitely “eye candy”.  A treat to behold and… you don’t have to see it through the eyes of an artist, you just have to see it.

#KarrenCaseArt #DallasArboretum #DallasBlooms