University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Intro & Landscape

 

This past weekend I was invited out to the Twin Cities' western suburbs, Chanhassen to be exact, to check out the University of Minnesota's Landscape Arboretum. Now, being a man of the world, I have been to arboretums before, namely one of the world's best, the Chicago Botanic Gardens located in Glencoe, IL. So, I'm no slouch when it comes to looking at trees and I know a good arboretum when I see one.

Let me tell you, this UofM version is nothing to sneeze at. They have all kinds of neat stuff, for people of all ages, including: main building/learning center with restaurant, wedding accommodations (at least two were underway the day we went), live turkeys (that's no joke, Turkey!), 3 mile car-route, pedestrian walkways galore, hedge maze, kids stuff and even a seemingly recent addition of sculptures/artworks incorporated into the grounds.

Here's a look at some of the better landscape shots I snapped:

Really wonderful rolling hills and pathways are main features of the grounds

Lots of movement and sounds from the water features on the property too

This is a great shot framed by artwork on the grounds... which I will showcase in a subsequent post

Now you maybe thinking, "What about the trees?!" Don't be alarmed, they have tons of those too... and flowers as well. It's all well-marked and labeled to your hearts content. You could learn a lot about the natural world at this place, no problemo.

Don't forget to come back for two more posts on the arboretum too.