Hard to believe.  October came and went, and I did not get to go to the Arboretum.  Not one single day did I visit the gardens.  I love going to the Arboretum.  It is one of my most favorite things to do in the entire world.  I like it.  I love it.  (Alas -The State Fair ended, and I did not go there either.  Boo-hoo.)  What was wrong?  I do not know, but it seems that on the days we could go to the Arboretum or the State Fair, it would rain.  On pretty days, we had other obligations.  Frustrating.

But, I am happy to report that this situation has changed.  Super Sister and friend Kim came to town, and first order of business was a trip to the Arboretum.  Yea!

Yes, there were pumpkins and mums.

I can not tell a lie.  I do not think there were as many pumpkins as there were last year, and it was a little disappointing.   Still the gardens were filled with beautiful fall color.  Kim had never visited the Arboretum, and she was amazed.

On this perfect fall day, we strolled along the paths and enjoyed being outside surrounded by mounds of pumpkins and beautiful flowers.

There appeared to be more speciality pumpkins and gourds this year.

A visit to the Pumpkin Village was a given.

Be still my heart.  I do love the pumpkin houses.

So many people were taking photographs of this arrangement.  It is a huge pumpkin surrounded by daisies. (Or are they sunflowers?) Good looking!

Extra-large pumpkins on stands create the best looking “flowers”.

These were unusual mums – yellow, orange and red.  Stunning!

The day in the garden with Super Sister and Kim was wonderful – they are loads of fun.  It was a gorgeous day, and there were beautiful flowers and unusual pumpkins at every turn.  We even enjoyed the Harvest Tea and visited the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.  (More about these in another post.)  Life is good!

Blessings to you and yours,

Autumn in the Garden at the Arboretum will be opened through November 27, 2013.  Do go if you can.

The family membership to the Arboretum is a deal almost too good to be true.

For a Family Membership ($125.00) you get:

Year-round main garden admission for up to six individuals per visit.

12 tickets to the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.

What a deal!