Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Chattanooga Nature Center and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden


As I told you in my last post, on our last day in Chattanooga I kind of took the 'vacation' mode into my own hands and kicked it up a notch. After the visit to The Barn Nursery we headed for the Chattanooga Nature Center (CNC), and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden.


The two being side by side made the trip a double treat, and we enjoyed them both. They are located at the foot of Lookout Mountain, and along the banks of Lookout Creek. You can read up on it at their website, so I will just share with you some of my favorite pictures from our visit.










This is the 'tree house' and is built around a clump of trees. It appears to be built almost entirely from reclaimed lumber, windows and columns, and is just adorable!











Hubby just loves a swing! Note all the different shapes and sizes of windows - fun!



Sweet shrub in abundance!




Lily of the valley everywhere!

(Side note - I went out and checked on my two LotV plants last night, and finally, after 3-4 years, they have multiplied and made one little baby - I'm such a proud grandma! Maybe I won't move them this year after all!)




Woods Poppies - mine are lovely right now, too!





I'm not exactly sure what this is - it was a shrub, though. I thought maybe it was buckeye? Correct me if I'm wrong, please!





And the following are pictures taken on the 3 1/2 mile ride around Reflection Riding. Enjoy!





Wildflowers in abundance! I loved the soft carpet of these little beauties!





Native azaleas, aka honeysuckles. The fragrance is amazing!!!





More lily of the valley, and soft, pretty ferns!





The Gazebo at Siren Pond - there was a hummer visiting these pink azaleas, but he was shy!





A bamboo garden, with rooms inside - a great place for children to play!





A tiny wild iris - only about 3 inches tall, and the blooms were almost that big across. I want some of these for my garden!





A gorgeous trillium. I have seen yellow and white ones, but never one this color - it's so beautiful!





More native azaleas. Heavenly!





Pink Dogwoods.





The pond.





Assorted colors of azaleas.



Now, oddly enough I didn't get any pictures of Lookout Creek. It was very full after all of the rains they had been having, but it was very picturesque. Because of the creek, and the ability for members to canoe the creek for free, using the center's canoes and equipment, we joined the CNC. The membership fee is $60 per family, and since we'd paid the $7 per person entrance fee, they deleted that from our membership fee. We are looking forward to visiting in a few weeks and canoeing Lookout Creek.


This visit was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation, and we look forward to visiting both facilities many times in the future. Thanks for joining me on this tour. Blessings friends, Becky

6 comments:

Floral Still Life said...

Your place looks so beautiful. We just moved to the country 3 years ago.....we have so much to do.....

I'm into still life photography of flowers. Have you ever tried doing that with yours?

Come and "smell my flowers" at my blog. Today I posted a still life image I did of some lily-of-the-vally blooms. Check it out at http://photographyhints.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Very beautiful pictures! Looks like a great place to visit. I had no idea all that was up there! LOL! Glad you found another place to canoe, too, I know how you like that! And it's not too far away. Perfect, I'd say! _Tish

Faye said...

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL POST!LOVE THE PICS.HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT TIME! BLESSINGS, FAYE

English Cottage in Georgia said...

What a beautiful, serene place to visit! I am getting an itch to take a weekend vacation :-).

Ladybug in TN said...

I think the plant you did not know is a wild trumpet vine.

Kelee Katillac said...

An inspiring place! Thank-you for sharing!

and also thanks for popping by--love new friends!