FREE+Beautiful Gardens+ICE CREAM+Cows=WIN
Initially we stopped by our old stomping grounds for some UDairy Creamery ice cream, but I thought it would be nice to walk around the gardens while we ate it since it had been awhile and WOW! They have made so many changes in 7 years!
The UD Botanic gardens are actually a learning tool for us plant geeks to memorize hundreds of plants and their uses in the landscape. Seeing mature plants, trees and shrubs in a garden setting is the best way to learn how to utilize them in a landscape design so I spent many hours in these gardens, even identifying trees by their buds and bark alone!
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, located on the University of Delaware’s South Campus is surrounded by the botanic gardens. You may even find sculptures throughout the garden depending on what time you visit, thanks to art students’ projects. Much of the plant material is labeled, so you can take note of what you love if you are looking for inspiration for your own yard.
Behind the greenhouse is a trial garden where many varieties of annuals are evaluated to see how they perform in our local planting zone so that recommendations can be made to homeowners.
After we checked out all the beautiful flowers in the trial garden, we crossed the road and wandered around the pathways in the Lepidoptera (butterfly) garden and D even found a bird nest!
And what would UDairy Creamery be without its cows?? They can often be seen right behind the greenhouse for an up close and personal farm experience. But don’t get too close to the electric fence! The ice cream can’t be beat at the creamery. And that is coming from an ice cream connoisseur. It has to be in my top 3 favorite ice cream places EVER!
Leave a Reply