Tiptoeing through the flowers and watching out for dinosaurs at Bellevue (Wash.) Botanical Garden
When we visit our daughter Mallory in the Seattle area, it’s sometimes difficult to remember we’re not at home. She lives near a city named Bellevue. We have a suburb by that name. There is an auto dealership with a similar name to one at home. Then, if that isn’t enough, a Seattle news anchor is the son of an Omaha newsman, and he uses his full name, which is the same as his dad. So, you can understand the confusion. But, then, we see Mount Rainier and the other mountains, the Seattle skyline and the water, and it slaps us awake.
You know you’re not in Kansas (or Omaha, really) anymore when you visit the Bellevue Botanical Garden. A walk through the Bellevue garden takes you from beautiful flowers to “Jurassic World.” At one point during my walk through the woodlands area of the garden, I felt like I was in a prehistoric jungle and had to be on the look out for velociraptors.
The Bellevue Botanical Garden is a beautiful park. The 53-acre park has 13 sections for people to visit. I’m not good at identifying most flowers. I just appreciate the aroma and beauty they provide.
A tradition gate leads visitors to the Japanese garden (Yao Garden). A small stream runs through the middle of the garden. Surrounded by ferns, flowers and traditional stone lanterns. The garden offers a serene feeling to it as you stroll through.
Plants, such as wildflowers and shrubs, which grow in a rocky environment, showcase the rock garden. The thing that stood out to me, though, was a rock formation that balanced rocks atop each other. I’ve seen this done along lakes and rocky coastlines. The skill to create this art piece impresses me.
Flowers, such as fuchsia, dahlia and Rhodondendram, are populous at the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Other flowers can found there. I love the mix of colors – white, purple, red, lavender, blue, pink and yellow – that gardeners used for selecting the flowers to display.
The Lost Meadow Trail is a nice nature walk that takes people through a woodlands and wetlands area. Tall trees provide shade during the walk.
The section that may have been my favorite is the Ravine Experience. The trail is about a third of a mile long. You cross a suspension bridge that is 150 feet about the ravine. Tall trees provide a canopy over the trail. Ferns and fallen trees butt up against the trail. Moss grows on the trees laying on the ground. Birds chirp. It just smacks of being in the middle of a jungle. This is the spot where I could imagine being in “Jurassic World.” A friend mentioned I should have been more concerned about running into a bear. Touche.
The Bellevue Botanical Garden provides an escape to nature inside a city. I enjoyed my visit and walk through the gardens. I recommend visiting the Bellevue Botanical Garden, which has free admission.
For more information on the Bellevue Botanical Garden, please visit www.bellevuebotanical.org.
