Beautiful and fun doesn’t start to describe the splendor at Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I thought going there would be sortof like walking through a park…it’s not. It’s way not. That would be like comparing Stefan Urquelle to Steve Urkel. Not the same.
My sister agreed to go with me last minute. She told me later that this was her first real daytime outing since having Clay. I remember those days. Being a self-confined mother of a newbie. She’s done things like go plant shopping and run errands, but fun stuff like seeing a place that has a cool exhibit named Imaginary Worlds? no. And you know that with a name like that, it’s gonna be fun.
Some of the cutest things in the garden must have taken forever. Like these trees that look straight out of a story book fantasy. Each branch was wrapped with these individual little strands of sparkly white crystal flowers.
Will has fall break this week so we were all able to go together. I love being able to spend the full day with him…it was just a couple months ago that he was with me all day every day and even though it’s just been three hours a few days a week, I still miss him. Don’t get me wrong….school has been so good for him already. He’s learning so much and loves his friends and teachers….but I still can’t get over the fact that he’s old enough for things like letters and Spanish class.
Of course, Weston also came. I considered leaving him at home but when I thought about him making himself lunch, it’s just not the mess I like cleaning up. Plus, he tends to try to sneak chocolate and watch cat youtube videos between meals.
The gardens had special features littered throughout called scarecrows….but honestly…they were more like ‘junk-figures’ than anything. I love love love when people make creative things out of junk so this was totally my jam. This was called Crowtron 3000.
And this one was “Strollin’ with my Crow-nies”…but Will told me that it was me and baby Weston.
This one was Will’s favorite. It was named “Cruisin’ in the garden”…and yes, Will is flamingo-ing.
This one was named “Bubo” but honestly it reminded me of a wise old owl of recycling. That’s a thing. Well….it is now.
Clay like the Day of the Dead display. Can you spot him? He has the blank stare and the white head.
Will and Weston are here with Esmarelda…fairy goth mother. I’m not kidding. That was her name. Cleavage was her game.
As fun as the scarecrows were…the best part about the visit, the part that literally made me catch my breath, the part that was evidence of true vision was these giant plant sculptures. Remember what Edward Scissorhands did to landscaping? Take that up a couple notches and you have Imaginary Worlds.
I loved the Unicorn but Will wasn’t convinced that it was an actual thing. He kept on arguing that it was a horse with a horn. And I would say “Yes and that is called a Unicorn”….and he would say “No that is called a horse with a horn”. Apparently you can teach the kid Spanish but mythical creatures don’t stick.
The dog was really cute. And about two feet bigger than me.
The bunny rabbits were fun but little. And not as much impact…but since they were hiding in the bushes, Will got a kick out of searching for them.
This was the cobra…and it was HUGE. Like Indiana Jones would be wetting himself.
Look at all this detail…
I kept on trying to figure out how they did it….it looked like they made metal frames and did a inside liner of landscaping fabric with soil on the inside too. Then they plugged the plants in where they wanted the designs.
The ogre. It was awesome. Will told me “like biwwie goats gwuff”. It does really look like the troll in that book.
Of course, my favorites also included water features. I would seriously love either of these in my backyard. Of course, the pedestrian traffic would be annoying but worth it to have a goddess in my property.
The Koi fish was the other water favorite of mine. It spun around shooting water of their mouth. It was beyond cool.
Overall it was such a perfect day. Cool and gorgeous. Plus, I have never been to Atlanta Botanical Gardens (after twenty years of living in metro Atlanta, I should be on a shame-list). Now this experience just makes me want to do a little bit more of the traditional Hot-lanta attractions (I’ve heard the Botanical Gardens is fantastic with their Christmas lights display so I might be putting that bug in Jer’s ear this winter!)
Oh and I didn’t get any DSLR pics of it but the kids little play ground area is great too. Maybe next time 🙂
I was trying to think of some of our other fun adventures in and around Atlanta…here’s what I came up with:
Stone Mountain Light Display, Zoo Atlanta, The Atlanta Aquarium, Corn Dawgs (Hope to add to this list soon!)
I want to be an origami goddess bc I am at the moment without a single stroller and I have a 3 year old and a 11 month old!!! Been looking for a new stroller, but they’re all so expensive!!!! Love the looks of this one and could use it everyday!!!!!!
That last picture of the three of you is THE best!!! So sweet with Will laughing and Weston touching your face.
I love the botanical gardens! But honestly I’ve always been a little underwhelmed with the Christmas lights display. Not that it isn’t beautiful, it is, but it’s always been so crowded that you can barely walk around. Without kids I think it would be nice (date night!), but with them it’s a little stressful.
SO WEIRD! I literally had a conversation with my 2-year-old about unicorns yesterday! He argued with me that it was a horse. I kept saying that a horse with a horn is called a unicorn and he was having none of it! 🙂
The day looked like fun. I love finding new places to hang out in, what feels like, the same old city. Very fun!
So fun! You are such a good mom – you take your boys everywhere! Will is getting so big and as always is so handsome.
I laughed at your comment about Weston staying home and watching YouTube cat videos….hahahaha.
Gah!! I love topiary. Gorgeous, just gorgeous. And you’re exactly right about how they do it. Wire frame lined with landscaping fabric, filler in the center and soil between the filler and liner. Cut slits where you want to add plants, in any pattern you want, and they fill in the frame as they grow. Here’s a project you could try that uses this idea, but on a very basic level, not nearly as incredible as those at the botanical garden, but similar. Also works great with succulents if you hate watering plants/ or just plain forget to water them.
http://gardenclub.homedepot.com/build-a-flower-tower/
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! I never enter blog giveaways but boy would this one be nice!! I’m currently pregnant with my first and without any stroller at all- let alone the rolls royce of strollers!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! And I would love this stroller. I drool a little every time I see it. 🙂
The botanical garden is amazing!
“I considered leaving him at home but when I thought about him making himself lunch, it’s just not the mess I like cleaning up. Plus, he tends to try to sneak chocolate and watch cat youtube videos between meals.”
Pretty sure this is what my husband says about me working at home every day.
Great pictures!
Something about this post (Will’s fall break and being able to share the trip with you) reminded me of what my sister-in-law does with her kids.
In Seattle, the museums are free on the first Thursday of every month, so she takes them out of school and they do a museum date for learning sake. The teachers know and support it, as, unfortunately, field trips aren’t funded as they used to be.
Her kids are in first and third grade, and they absolutely love spending the day at various museums with Mom while having a lunch out. They go to the best places and have incredible conversations about their experiences, too. I’m hoping we can tag along for one or two one day.
I was just in Atlanta last week for a girls reunion! We took a Segway tour through the city and it was awesome! I loved it!
It looks like you guys had a blast and how could you not when it’s so gorgeous!
http://jax-and-jewels.blogspot.com
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! Our future little nugget, due in January. Can’t wait!!
The last time I went to the gardens (oh ya know, about 6 years ago) they had all of these tile mosaic sculpture and they were gorgeous! I would love to go back but it’s a little bit of a trek now seeing as how I don’t live in Georgia anymore
Wow- this is amazing!! I am so impressed, especially by that cobra. I need to get myself to the botanical gardens pronto!!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! Trying for number one, surely it’s not to soon to start collecting baby stuff……behind closed doors of course so people don’t think your completely insane 😉
Love the botanical gardens. The Christmas lights are awesome! We went last year on Black Friday (my parents were in town visiting and that was the only day that worked) shortly after sunset and it wasn’t too crowded. We were there for a couple hours and the line to get in was crazy long! I heard week nights are less crazy and last year there was a groupon or living social deal for admission.
Love the aquarium also! You can get in free on your birthday!
You have to make it over to the Yellow River Game Ranch one day! It is in Stone Mountain. I used to go all the time as a kid and it was the most amazing place to learn about animals. It is a little zoo that has a lot of native animals – wild cats, black bears, etc. and a few exotics. The best part of the whole thing is the petting zoo areas. In the little shop where you purchase admission you buy all sorts of animal food and bring quarters to use food dispensers near some of the caged animals and feed them through food chutes… then as you walk around you can feed all sorts of things. Deer eat out of your hand and give you kisses, feed an apple to a horse, pet 100 bunny rabbits… One of my favorite childhood memories was feeding a baby squirrel some corn out of my palm. The park is heavily wooded so there is a lot of shade and walking around is nice. There is also a nice little kids park with a playground and picnic tables right outside of the ranch to have lunch and play.
http://www.yellowrivergameranch.com/
Oh yes! I forgot about that! We did do that and posted about it here.
xo – kb
I don’t really understand how this stroller would be practical for some one with 2 under 3 and 1 on the way? From what I can tell you can’t attach a second seat or a stroller board. I’m carrying baby #2 and looking into double/conversion strollers so maybe I just didn’t find the options for one. Do they carry any accessories to make it into a double? For that price I’d hope I could extend the life of its use for our family.
That place looks amazing!! What gorgeous creations!!
I WANT TO BE AN ORIGAMI GODDESS! MY SON WOULD LOVE THIS STROLLER!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess!
Those plant sculptures (is that what you call them?) are awesome! The dog is so great! I love all of them though, what a fun outing with the kids!
Awesome! Didn’t see that post. I grew up near there and it is an amazing experience for children to learn about animals. I’m still a huge animal lover now. We now live about 4 hours away but I am planning a trip to take our niece and nephew… when we have kids it will have to be a tradition!!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! Such a cool stroller!
The zoo has a baby Rhino, baby gorilla, and a baby oragatna. The pandas might be public now too since they are 100 days old! I’m ready for a zoo visit to see the babies.
I’ll have to add the gardens for my Atlanta bucket list. There are all kinds of neat things to do. And the top attractions are there for a reason. Don’t forget the new Sky View wheel..
I love the Atlanta Botanical Gardens!! We went when we spent a week in Atlanta back in 2006. SO AWESOME!! You sparked a nice trip down memory lane for me!! We did all the things on your list except for Corn Dawgs 🙂 We also did the Coca Cola museum, Margaret Mitchell’s house, Six Flags, Stone Mountain and some of the civil war battlefields. Lots of good stuff to do in your ‘hood! 🙂
I want to be an origami goddess because they are the best!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess!! I would definitely use this for my new son (born 10/20). He already loves his Mamaroo so I am sure he would love the stroller too 🙂
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! My 1 year old daughter Ellie would be so cute in that stroller!
i want to be an oragami goddess 🙂 for my little one due in dec.
That’s a really good question. I guess part of what folks should know is that Will is over strollers. He prefers to walk. ALWAYS. We already have one double stroller and we rarely use the double kit…so we would use this if both Jeremy and I were ‘strolling’ the little babies. Otherwise, I would probably use this for Weston while wearing baby #3 while Will is at school or walking himself. I don’t believe they have a doubles kit for the Origami but I would not be surprised if they came out with one in the future (they are really smart at problem solving so it sounds like something they would do.)
xo – kb
The Christmas Lights are awesome, I have been 3 or 4 times and never found it crowded, but I wouldn’t go on a weekend. I am not sure I would call the scarecrows junk, people work really hard on them, but yes, they are made out of recycled items. I was at the ABG today, it is one of our favorite places.
Omg I SO want to be an origami goddess!!! My cell phone is pretty much never charged all the way, and we sometimes have to walk the dog after it starts getting dark so the headlights would be awesome! My 2 month old would be riding in style, that’s for sure. Might have to change his name to George, like the royals.
Those sculptures are amazing! So fun!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! My lil baby girl due Feb. 22, 2014 will be the happy cutie in this stylish stroller.
I took my mom and my sister to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens at the beginning of October and my mom was so impressed. I talked to her yesterday and she mentioned them again and how she wished she lived closer so she could go all the time!
Christmas at the Botanical Garden is really beautiful. I highly recommend it! : )
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! I am crushing on that stroller for my 2 week old Austin. His big sis Savanna is still a bit possessive over what belongs to her (and her dollies now). So glad I found your blog – loving it!!
Saw the mosaicuture competition in Montreal two weeks ago and was blown away. I had never seen anything like it–topiary on steroids! When I saw your post I immediately texted my sister in Atlanta to go to the Botanical Gardens AT ONCE! She had already seen it and was so impressed that she took out a membership.
I wanna be an Origami Goddess!
I have 2 of the 4Moms MamaRoos and the Baby Bath and LOVE them all! I love 4Moms!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! Umm what kid or momma wouldn’t want this thing?
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! My unborn baby would love it (and momma too!)
Those plant sculptures are amazing. The shaggy dog is my favorite. What a fun trip.
Oh yeah. I understand why. If I lived any closer, I’d do the same.
xo – kb
Oh for sure…beautiful things are made out of other people’s trash items all the time! I call it ‘junk’ but really I think everyone agrees that one person’s trash can be a treasure to someone else!
xo – kb
I want to be an origami goddess!
I want to be an origami goddess because I definitely need a charger on my stroller!
I want to be an Origami Goddess!
I want to be an Origami Goddess!
I want to be an origami goddess!
I wanna be an Origami Goddess! I think everyone could use one!
I think something is wrong with your givaway — I see comments here on your botanical gardens post.
If you want to do the christmas lights, be sure to start looking for coupons now.
http://www.atlantaonthecheap.com/coupon-codes-garden-lights-holiday-nights-at-the-atlanta-botanical-garden-discounts/
Unrelated — you should take the boys to the rail museum. http://www.certifikid.com/deal/8817/20-for-admission-for-4-plus-train-ride-at-southea/48732YP/48732YP
Some folks never know how to work comments. Usually I go through later and put them on the right post. And thanks for the info on the rail museum and the coupons! I will definitely check it out!
xo – kb