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

Heading Home

The residents of Camellia Cottage, Too are ready to pack it up and head for home.



It's been a week of rainy, cold days, and sunny, warm days, and I must say I prefer the latter!

We have seen lots of beautiful country . . .



Seen the signs of 'progress' . . .


Learned a lot about the Civil War history of this area . . .

And saw lots of beautiful signs of spring . . .

And now, I've got to get dressed and get this tin can packed up, the car and truck ready to go, and hit the road back toward home! And I'm ready!

See you back at Camellia Cottage! Becky