Since moving to Texas in 2004, my husband and I have often frequented the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. I was first introduced to its beauty when the company I worked for took my department on a picnic lunch there. I snapped a gazillion photos, and then promptly lost them all.
Luckily, these days my husband is usually in charge of transferring the photos, and since having kids we have taken thousands against the backdrop of the Garden’s beautiful foliage.
Most of the Garden is free to visit. Our favorite thing to do is pack a lunch (and camera!) for a picnic on the lawn near the pond in the Rose Garden. We get in some family time exploring “secret” trails, go walk the Texas Native Boardwalk, take some pictures, and the kids run around until they are spent. Any activity that can wear my kids out is cool with me. Easy naps for the win!
In addition to the beautiful scenery the garden offers many activities for families. Some have a fee and others are free. Here are ones that have caught my eye:
- Green Thumb Club Summer Camps. Cost: $80 each. Mondays-Thursdays, 9am-12pm. The camps “provide the children with the opportunity to learn more about the natural world around them.”
- Family Discovery Programs. Cost: Free. There are five different programs throughout the rest of 2013 for kids 4 and up. Each runs from 11am-12pm. This program is perfect for those of us interested in seasonal gardening.
- Little Sprouts Programs. Cost: Free. Little Sprouts meet once a month and is for kids ages 18 months-3 years. You’ll dig, learn, and play with bugs!
There are many more programs available so make sure to stop by the Fort Worth Botanic Garden web site to find out more info and verify prices and times.
Which programs or garden areas interest you? Where do you take your kids to wear them out?
also a great place to take old aunts to when they visit!
One of our most favorite places in FW. Having two toddlers, I can still go by myself and let them run free a bit and not worry too much. We park in front of the restaurant and take the short walk to the pond after the rose bushes where we can feed old bread to the turtles and coy fish. Then we do the long walk all the way to front entry, take a potty break, eat a snack on the benches and then walk back to our car to head home for lunch. Gets the kids’ energy out and teaches them about nature and kills a whole morning (for those of us that are home full time with little ones, this is a BIG plus). We also like to go grab breakfast at a local place on Saturday mornings and then go here for a few hours afterward for some family time. We go early and are sometimes one of the few people there.