Fall/Winter 2015

Places to Visit:

New York:

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden

Opened in 1910, the BBG is comprised of 52 acres and is home to a variety of plants and birds. It also features several specialty gardens including a Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, an aquatic garden, a herb garden, and even a children’s garden where kids can plant their own crops. A garden-wide installation of 18 sculptures by renowned Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi is currently on display until December 13, 2015. They were specifically chosen for various settings at the Garden and interact subtly with the setting’s rolling hills, rocks, ponds, and plantings. www.bbg.org

New Jersey:
Presby Memorial Iris Garden

Located in Montclair, the Garden was created in the 1920s as a memorial to Frank H. Presby who loved Iris flowers and worked to hybridize them. Today, it is home to over 10,000 irises of approximately 1,500 varieties and often referred to as the “rainbow on the hill” because of their varying colors. The Garden features a variety of unusual trees and shrubs that were chosen for their branching pattern, color, time of flowering, and leaf shape. The “PresBee Sanctuary” has 7 active hives with well over 100,000 Italian honeybees. The honey collected is sold at the Garden’s Gift Shop. www.presbyirisgardens.org

Connecticut:
The Adventure Park at the Discovery Museum

This 5-acre park in Bridgeport allows visitors to experience trees from up in the forest canopy – walking, climbing and zip lining from tree to tree. It consists of 11 different color-coded “aerial trails” featuring 180 tree platforms that are connected by bridges and zip lines. They range in difficulty from beginner to advanced climber. The Park also features two kids’ friendly areas, the Monkey Grove and the Labyrinth. After dark, luminescent LED lighting is turned on in the Park to create a magical “Twilighting” effect while maintaining the beauty of the forest. www.discoveryadventurepark.org