Thousands of blooms at Dirt & Grit Flower Farm

We were greeted by Hannah, two baby goats, and a field of thousands of blooming tulips!

A new you-pick flower farm has their grand opening today, just 30 minutes from downtown Greenville in Woodruff, South Carolina. I was invited out yesterday for a sneak-peak & to snap a few photos for Kidding Around Greenville, and so Zintis and I made the drive down I-385 on a beautiful blue-sky day and in no time were on the farm gawking at the gorgeous flower fields.

As we toured the flower field with Hannah (co-owner of Dirt & Grit Farm), she reminisced on how some years ago she had searched for a you-pick flower farm near their home and found the options to be too far a drive - so instead she established a cutting garden. The garden grew into a flower field, which has now evolved into a you-pick offering for the Upstate; Dirt & Grit Flower Farm has 50,000+ tulips and 4,000+ daffodils blooming this season, with over 25 varieties available!

From March 8-9 (two days only!) VIP tickets are available, guaranteeing a full field of blooms and ten stems to take home from the you-pick field; you can buy tickets on their website Dirt and Grit Flower Farm. Then, starting Sunday March 10^th, general admission to the tulip and daffodil fields is just $8/person - children 9 and under are free! Enjoy the flowers, and if you wish to pick a bouquet, scissors, buckets and water are available on-site. Flowers are just $1/stem with general admission, and guests are welcome to take photos and bring a picnic to enjoy afterwards. Special care has been taken in the details - even the cups for cut flowers are sturdy, recyclable, and a perfect fit for the cupholder!

The family-farm is also a working farm. The adjacent pasture had horses and cattle, while another field contained the goats. We spotted a few chickens wandering around, and the softest, fluffiest dog came by to say hello. As we talked there was a constant buzz of activity – tractors delivering mulch, a team working on some last-minute painting – and always the background noise of the goats and cattle.

With the two baby goats still trailing us, I asked Hannah about their hopes for the farm. She said that if all goes well, they might convert a field across the street to flowers – maybe sunflowers, or other summer flower. However, the emphasis is “one project at a time!” and this season Dirt & Grit Farm is growing the opportunity for local families to come out and enjoy the beauty of spring flowers.

We are blessed to have such vibrant agro-tourism in the Upstate, and I hope you’ll take full advantage of it this spring. Drive down to Dirt & Grit Flower Farm, spend an hour in their tulip field, and pick a bouquet! Then the following week, dream of tulip fields and spring days as you admire the vase of flowers adorning your home…

Dirt & Grit Flower Farm
3456 Harris Bridge Road, Woodruff SC 29388
Find them on Facebook and Instagram!

Glendale Shoals Preserve

The story of the small town of Glendale is similar to that of Greenville. The textile industry thrived in the Upstate, mill towns flourishing on the banks of rivers such as the Reedy and Lawson’s Fork Creek, until cheaper labor overseas, technology and automation, and international trade agreements led to its demise. Today, the former milltown boasts an Upstate hidden gem – Glendale Shoals Preserve.

Located just six miles east of Spartanburg, Glendale owes its presence to Dr. James Bivings who arrived in the area around 1830 and started a cotton manufacturing company. Bivingsville Mill was profitable until the late 1840s, when Bivings sold his share and left the area. After the partners declared bankruptcy the mill was auctioned off, and one of the businessmen involved in the purchase later bought out his partners and took over mill operations. In 1878 Dexter Converse (founder of D.R. Converse Co. as well as Converse College) renamed the town & mill Glendale, and the mill prospered until the collapse of the textile industry in SC.

The mill shut down in 1961, and then in 2004 there was a fire (see the Glendale website for photographs); today only ruins remain. The site has been incorporated into the Glendale Shoals Preserve, a 13-acre park that includes a pedestrian bridge, the dam, the shoals, a canoe/kayak launch and nature trails.

Glendale Shoals, as seen from north bank of Lawsons Fork Creek

Parking is located behind the Glendale Post Office, adjacent to the Goodall Environmental Studies Center. Part of Wofford College, the center includes a garden, vineyard, laboratory, classroom/conference center (the restored former mill office), and an amphitheater. When starting your explorations here don’t overlook the “Poet’s Garden” with its hidden view of the dam and ‘take a poem, leave a poem” mailbox.

The garden, vineyard, and former mill office

Glendale Shoals Trail on the north side of Lawsons Fork Creek is about ½ of a mile long. It leads through the mill ruins, past a Labyrinth (built by the Philosophy in Action Living-Learning Community at Wofford College), and through a segment of woods to the border with private property. At this end there is a small seating area, as well as a sandy bank on a section of river that is sometimes used as a swimming hole. There are no trespassing signs indicating the end of the preserve. A connector to the Glendale Greenway can be used for a loop hike that totals about 1 mile from the parking area.

The labyrinth, with a mill tower in the background

Once back at the parking area, head across the Glendale Bridge to reach the trails on the south bank of the creek. The Pratt truss-style bridge was originally built in 1928 to replace an old one-lane bridge, and featured a new pedestrian lane in addition to the two lanes for automobile traffic. In 1977 a 250-foot reinforced concrete bridge was built to replace the structure, rerouting traffic on a more direct route to the west.  The 1928 bridge was recently reopened to pedestrians in 2018 after a full restoration, and has a scenic view of the shoals and to the pond on the opposite side.

In additional to textiles, the iron industry also predominantly features in the history of Glendale. The iron ore along the banks of the creek, limestone bedrock and available timber were all contributing factors to the establishment of iron works on the banks of Lawsons Fork Creek, just west of the park. The iron works were served by one of the earliest roads in the Upstate, "Georgia Road,” an important route during the colonial and Revolutionary War eras. As the iron works were on the opposite shore from the town of Glendale, a bridge was necessary to allow workers to cross the creek, necessitating the 1800s precursor to Glendale Bridge.

Having crossed Lawsons Fork, there is a staircase descending to the creek and the trail that runs just under ½ mile along the south bank. After heavy rains portions of the trail may be inaccessible/dangerous, however the views of the shoals and dam waterfall are better from this side of the river. There are two points of access from Emma Cudd Road; keep in mind parking on this side is more of the gravel pull-off than parking lot variety.

During the summer the exposed rock is a beautiful place for a picnic, while the sandy area off Glendale Shoals Trail is great for building sand castles. (Side note: one thing to remember is that debris and trash frequently get deposited in these flood zones during high water events; glass and other hazards could pose a hazard to children at play.) Progress is being made on the invasive exotics along the creek, and the garden is well tended and interesting for kids to explore.  At just under an hour’s drive from Greenville, Glendale Shoals is well worth a stop while in the Spartanburg area.

Chihuly Nights at Biltmore

If you haven’t yet been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville to see the Chihuly exhibit, you have until the first week in October to see this captivating art installation, the first art exhibition in Biltmore’s historic gardens, and the first garden exhibition of Chihuly’s works in North Carolina.

Solo d'Oro (2017)

Electric Yellow and Deep Coral Tower (2017)

Artist Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor, famous for his environmental artwork. We have our very own Chihuly piece right here in Falls Park – Rose Crystal Tower – although it is constructed of Polyvitro instead of glass (see my post Chihuly Comes to Greenville).

Pergola Garden Fiori (2018)

Red Reeds (2017)

  

We opted for Chihuly Nights tickets, as they include an evening visit to Biltmore as well as daytime admission the day of your evening visit or the following day to the Gardens, Conservatory, Antler Hill Village & Winery, the shops and the restaurant. The only difference between a day and night ticket really seems to be your entry time into the Biltmore House; an evening tour is self-guided and restricted to the First Floor.

Paintbrush Tower (2014)

Cattails and Copper Birch Reeds (2015) outside the Conservatory

You will want to tour the house, as Laguna Torcello II is located in the Winter Garden. It is the only piece located inside the Biltmore House; Sky Blue and Cobalt Fiori is located just outside the main entrance.

Laguna Torcello II (2018)

Sky Blue and Cobalt Fiori (2017)

Portions of the exhibit can be found along the Pergola, in the Shrub Garden, in the Walled Garden and Italian Garden, and in the Conservatory. The centerpiece, Sole d’Oro, is located on the Esplanade, and two more pieces can be found in Antler Hill Village: Alabaster and Amber Spire Towers & Turquoise and Erbium Fiori.

Sole d'Oro (2017)

The orchids in the Conservator almost showed up the Chihuly chandeliers...

Burnished Amber, Citron, and Teal Chandeliers (2017) - one of two in the Conservatory

  

Our visit was made even more interesting by a summer thunderstorm. Not only did we have the gardens to ourselves, the colors seemed more lush and vibrant. In addition there were some fantastic skies serving as a backdrop to the Châteauesque residence.

We saw the storm coming a long way off

Float Boat (2017) and the Italian Garden

  

If Sole d’Oro is the centerpiece, the sculptures in the Italian Garden are a crescendo – the five works are floating in the ponds, water lilies and koi living among them.

Niijima Floats (2018) and the resident carp among the clouds

Fiori Boat (2017), Neodymium Reeds with Fiori Verdi (2014) in background

It was here that I definitely noticed the Italian influence on Chihuly's work. One of the pieces is titled Palazzo Ducale Tower, and it is the oldest in the exhibition. The initial phase of Chandelier exploration culminated in his Chihuly over Venice project, and the ceilings that could not support chandeliers challenged the artist to create towers. I wrote about Venice, Palazzo Ducale and the Murano glassblowing legacy in my post Venice and Lido, Italy.

Palazzo Ducale Tower (1996) in he Italian Garden is the oldest piece in the exhibition

A visit to Biltmore in the coming months offers the Chihuly experience alongside the landscape architecture of Frederick Law Olmstead; it is no wonder that it has taken nearly two years of preparation to host this exhibit, and it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that is worth the trip.

Red Reeds (2017)

Sole d'Oro (2017) as seen from the Statue of Diana

Our favorite Children's Garden - Morton Arboretum

Our visit to the Morton Arboretum to see the Troll Hunt art installation included some time spent in the Children’s Garden, the award-winning, 4-acre, interactive, educational, and super-fun garden. Filled with numerous different areas of exploration, the Children’s Garden is the most fantastic nature-themed play area I have ever had the chance to explore!

The Children’s Garden has two main areas: Backyard Discovery Gardens and Adventure Woods. The two are linked by a Central Plaza, and have ten smaller, themed gardens within. Engaging and interactive activities abound throughout, and just outside the Children’s Garden is an additional Maze Garden, a one-acre puzzle of hedges, complete with lookout tower.

“At The Morton Arboretum, imagination lives, curiosity grows, and kids flourish in the Children’s Garden. Splash through secret streams, climb colossal acorns, and slide down giant tree roots all day long. Explore, learn, and play among trees and the natural world.”

Leaf Station at the Morton Arboretum Children's Garden

Upon entering, stroll the Kids' Tree Walk and Tree Finder Grove, and spin the one-ton kugel ball in the Central Plaza.

Then head into the Adventure Woods portion of the garden. There you'll encounter Wonder Pond, Under the Trees, Grotto and Secret Stream, Grassy Meadow, and Evergreen Walk and Lookout.

The kids spent more than an hour playing in the stream, building dams and waterfalls. The Lookout was another favorite spot, complete with hanging bridges and multiple vantage points to the Children's Garden, seemingly located far up in the tree canopy. 

The tadpoles that hatch each spring in Wonder Pond are American Toads. This is a natural occurrence, but if you asked the kids, each glimpse of a tadpole was a magical happening! Bring a dry change of clothes if being dry is important to you, otherwise keep playing and the kids will be dry by the time they get in the car... unless they find the stream!

Next, in the Backyard Discovery Gardens area: Curiosity Garden, Bloom, Zoom, & Sprout, Every Which Way, and the Windmill Garden. The Every Which Way Garden allowed the moms to sit down and rest for a bit, while the kids played among tree 'roots', examined live pollinators in the monarch waystation, and learned how it feels to be a plant being watered in the giant mister - yes, you'll have to give them another hour to dry out again!

The Children’s Garden hours vary by season; please visit their website for more information. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult while visiting the Children's Garden, and there is an employee stationed at the entrance to help monitor that kids don’t leave the garden without their parents.

In addition to the Maze Garden, there are two other nature play spaces on our grounds: Mud Kitchen and Word Garden. Visitors to the Arboretum through the end of 2018 can also participate in the Troll Hunt; see my post Hunting for Trolls at the Morton Arboretum.

Hunting for trolls at the Morton Arboretum

My last visit to the Morton Arboretum was a lifetime ago, but when I heard about the new art installation “Troll Hunt,” I knew we would be making the trek to Lisle during our sojourn in the Midwest. What more appropriate way to become reacquainted with the arboretum and hunt for trolls, than with best friends from my days in the UIUC forestry program? Of course a relaxing day strolling the paths of this Chicagoland institution wasn’t in the books – we hit the trails with three moms and eight kids, severely outnumbered but in for a fantastic adventure.

Meet Little Arturs!

The six trolls and one troll hideout is the work of Danish artist Thomas Dambo, and are crafted entirely from reclaimed wood and natural materials. The 15 to 30 foot tall sculptures serve as protectors of our environment: “The trolls share the Arboretum's desire to care for trees; however, they seem suspicious of humans. We need you to join the investigation and help trolls and humans come to understand each other. What will you discover when you join the hunt?”

Sneaky Socks Alexa had a 'human trap' set up, and was lying in wait to set it off...

“Troll Hunt” first opened in the spring of 2018, and will be on exhibit through 2018 and possibly into 2019. Bearing a resemblance to the trolls of European folklore, the enormous statues were a huge hit with the kids; we spent all day at the arboretum, split between troll hunting and the Children’s Garden.

Rocky Bardur is right off the parking lot - seems like someone parked a little too close!

Step one: Pick up the Troll Hunter's Handbook when you arrive. The trolls are located between two feet and ¾ of a mile from the nearest parking lot, spread over the Arboretum’s 1,700 acres; to see all the trolls, the total hiking distance is six to seven miles. A Morton map and the Handbook will help you find a logical route to visit the trolls, as well as provide prompts to find a clue for each troll; this will allow you to locate the Troll's ‘secret hideout,’ the seventh part of the installation. We opted to visit a few of the closer trolls by foot, and then drive to the remaining sites; see this link for info on accessibility and closest parking lots. You can also rent bicycles (or bring your own), as well as buy tickets to the troll tram; the 1½ hour tour takes you to 4 trolls with less than ½ mile walk at each.

The Troll Hideout

Step two: Try not to spend all day at the Troll Hideout! Once you’ve found all the trolls and filled in the blanks in the Troll Hunter’s Handbook, put your heads together to figure out where the hideout is located. It’s a short hike in but worth every step! There is a giant tepee structure for troll strategy sessions, and everything from a giant-sized mancala game board with pine cone pieces, to a troll-size toothbrush and other troll essentials! The kids took turns posing in the cauldron, banging the giant drum, cooping one another up in the human-size trap, and holding conferences in ‘troll court’. I spent my time admiring the imagination and craftsmanship behind every little detail of the hideout, photographing the shadows created by the tepee, and covering my ears whenever someone found the drum!

FYI: Morton Aroboretum has a Reciprocal Admissions Program with Hatcher Woodland Gardens in Spartanburg and the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, as well as the North Carolina Arboretum – please visit the website for more details. http://ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/rap/find/statebystate Or, visit on a Wednesday for $5 off an adult ticket.

Troll Hunt, a Fairy Tale

A Chicago Botanic Garden Sunset

We found ourselves on the north side of Chicagoland with a few hours to spare, the hot sun having morphed into a more-manageable evening light. While on that end of the city, we decided to make a stop at the Chicago Botanic Garden; during the summer months the gardens are open until 9pm, allowing for a twilight stroll in cooler temperatures.

Lilies in the Native Plant Garden

The Chicago Botanic Gardens are known worldwide, despite being less than 50 years old. The origins can be traced back to the Chicago Horticultural Society which was founded more than 100 years ago, and today the CBG is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and operated by the Chicago Horticultural Society. Although it had been at least a dozen years since my last visit, I knew we were in for a treat and was very much looking forward to refilling my batteries in this urban oasis.

Fountain in the English Walled Garden

Situated on 385 acres east of the Edens expressway (just north of the Skokie Lagoons), the garden is unique in that it contains six miles of shoreline, with nine islands offering a wide range of formal and more casual gardens. Although a couple of hours are not enough to see the gardens in their entirety, it is just enough for a walk around the main island through some of the more intensely managed areas.

After emerging from the Visitor Center we crossed the bridge over to the main island and started our visit in the Crescent and on the Esplanade. The views toward North Lake and the fountain were aglow in the soft evening light, and we stuck to the shoreline to reach the Native Plant Garden.

A lotus flower blooming in the Heritage Garden

The Aquatic Plant Garden is really unique, waterlilies blooming on both sides of a pier that zigzags through the water. Adjacent to it is the bulb garden, which offered some of the most fantastic color on this particular visit.

A rainbow of colors in the Bulb Garden

We crossed back through the Landscape Garden, emerging near the Circle Garden. The boys were not so excited about crossing the bridge to Spider Island once I told them it was named after the giant arachnids that live on the island (jk folks), but we persisted, and the dappled sunlight on the birches reminded me of the Latvian forests that are in every Latvian’s heart.

Bonsai!!!

We cut through the Regenstein Center to see the Bonsai Collection. There are over 200 bonsai that are displayed on a rotating basis, including a Japanese white pine that has been trained for at least 100 years.

We walked around the rose garden, and the boys took turns photographing, sniffing and splashing in the fountain.

The east end is my favorite portion of the island, as paths meander and crisscross - many secluded benches, walled gardens and quiet spots just waiting to be found. We skirted the Dwarf Conifer Garden and crossed the bridge to the Japanese Garden, admiring the oranges and reds of the setting sun through the manicured pine trees. These 17 acres include three islands, but only two are open to the public; the third symbolizes paradise, in sight but elusive.

Once back on the main island the boys insisted on following the rushing waters of the Waterfall Garden up to the pond at the top of the hill. The sun started dipping below the trees, and we raced twilight in our decent.

We explored the English Walled Garden and Oak Meadow knowing our time was almost up, enchanted by the emergence of fireflies and the soft glow of the Garden’s globe lighting. Before long we crossed back to the Heritage Garden, soaking the last bit in before crossing the bridge back to the Visitor Center and the city…

English Oak Meadow