Tonight we went to Red Butte Garden as a family. I've heard great things but we've never been there before. Earlier this year I bought a Groupon but it was only good for the adults, so we had to pay full price for the kids. Even though it's the heat of the summer, there were still quite a few lovely flowers growing!
Brodie and I enjoyed walking through the "Herb Gardens" and seeing (and smelling) all the different herbs and produce they had growing in there. We also loved the way they were growing the pear and apple trees! They had them growing up and over some archways, pruning and tying them to have them grow on the arches. They were beautiful, provided nice shade, and didn't take up so much space as they were growing up and over an arch as opposed to growing out all over the place. And they had quite a bit of fruit on them!
There were some fun little trails leading to little alcoves, nice quiet spots for reading or just thinking, and lovely overlooks. The children's discovery garden also had a couple cute little alcoves just right for kids. And there were benches all over the place to stop and enjoy the beauty.
Spencer kept track of all the creatures we saw. First we picked up Subway sandwiches (don't ask me why as there are so many better sandwich shops for the same price--or less--but that's where we went) and ate them just past the visitor's center. The kids had a hard time eating as they were so enthralled by a chubby little squirrel hanging around. Then there were obviously plenty of bees and the sort. The kids were quite frightened by these, especially when they surprised one of the kids as they were smelling something. Spencer loved smelling everything he possibly could. We also saw plenty of fun, beautiful butterflies and dragonflies. Near the little waterfall Spencer pointed out a snake making its way towards the water and in the herb garden the kids spent a good deal of time watching a snail try to cross the walkway. There was also a little pond with some duck and fish swimming around. Oh, and Spencer pointed out a spider in the restroom. When we got home Spencer wanted to draw all of these creatures and make himself a book of them, but it was bedtime so he told me to remind him tomorrow.
Tessa walked most of the way, but kept asking to be carried. She said she was too tired to walk, until we came to the Children's Discovery Garden. Then she somehow was overflowing with energy. It was a lot of fun for the kids. There were little tunnels with vines and bushes all over them. There was also a sandbox that we didn't play in but looked like a lot of fun. The kids climbed all over some lizard figures on the lawn, and found some cute little flower displays like a birthday cake and a bed. Of course their favorite part was the water. I had read about this so I came prepared with towels and a change of clothes, which was good as they were literally dripping by the end of it. Clara played in it a little bit.
As you can see Tessa loved putting her head into the large fountain. Spencer was on a kung-fu kick (literally) and kept kicking and karate chopping the water in the fountain and from the snakes. Clara liked grabbing the water with her hands, but didn't like it splashing on her face. The water was really cold. When the kids were finally shaking and dripping I took them to the nearby restrooms to have them dry off and change. Then they explored some more of the children's garden before we came home. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours (including eating time). It was a lot of fun, but not worth the price for us. I know it costs a lot of money to keep this beautiful, informative garden running, but $8 for an adult and $6 per kid was more than what we got out of it. If I lived closer I would consider a season pass, but for now I think I'll watch for discounts and maybe add this to a once a year rotation. Maybe I'll try to hit it in spring next year to see all the flowers in bloom.
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