We were a little bleary-eyed the morning of our Dallas Arboretum visit but I was excited to see the gardens and glad we could bring coffee in. We stopped in at a lovely coffee shop called Cultivar Coffee (they have a few shops but this one was the closest one to the Arboretum and we noticed that there was a cool-looking taco shop attached to it as well!). When the barista saw my kid take the lid off my coffee to snap a picture of the art, he told The Bean he’d re-do the coffee to give him something he could really take a picture of. So here is my Bean’s first cup of coffee (he did not drink it but took a zillion pictures). People here in Dallas are definitely the sweetest.
And when I told the barista we were picking up donuts at Hypnotic Donuts after our coffee stop he told me we had to order the pistachio one because it was amazing.
So of course we did, and we added a coffee and sprinkle one too.
And we toted our donuts and coffee into the Arboretum because they encourage picnicking and lounging in their gardens and this just makes the visit even more comfortable and inviting. (They also have food you can purchase there too. If I lived in Dallas I’d definitely do the high tea there but they don’t do a kid’s tea yet.)
We had a tour that day with a lovely lady from the Arboretum and it was actually a pretty chilly day in Dallas (and my warmest clothing was workout wear that was not intended for the general public to see as we were headed to Belize and I thought we wouldn’t need anything warm. So there will be no pictures of my heinous outfit.) But we zipped around in a solar power golf cart and you know how much I love vehicles with innovative energy sources lately, so I was totally thrilled.
And oh these are gorgeous gardens. The plants and flowers are all so thoughtfully placed and there are trails to meander down and inviting stone benches that beckon you to sit and think about life for a little while. If I didn’t have my kids with me, it would be the perfect relaxing place to read a book, especially on a cool day in Dallas. We zipped along one garden path after another and then we arrived at the most magical garden place for kids they could ever imagine. Everything in the Children’s Garden feels like it was made with intention and with kids in mind and I love the way a visit here could totally reconnect children with nature. It feels like a place that’s good for the soul. (We’ve only seen one other place like this in our travels, the Jacob Ballas Garden in Singapore, but I wish there were more in the world. Do you know of any?)
So if you are in Dallas and have the chance to go to the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden you must. My kids could have spent hours there playing in the water exhibit, climbing high off the ground and learning about winds and seeds.
There was so much learning going on in all the play they were doing and they did not want to leave. There was even a lab that morning and we had fun experimenting with clay and sand and figuring out which would allow the most water to filter through.
The OmniGlobe in the Education Center was also really cool and my guys loved learning about planets and weather and they were pretty mesmerized by it all.
So with bellies full of donuts and coffee and eyes and hearts full of spectacular garden sights we had a fabulous day at the Arboretum and this is a place I wish we had in Seattle and I hope we can visit again.
(PS. Thank you to the Dallas Arboretum for inviting my family to visit. We received admission to the gardens but were not required to write this post and of course the opinions expressed about are our own.)
(PPS. I noticed a printable tree scavenger hunt you could print before you go if you think you might need something additional to keep your kids entertained. But you probably won’t. I think we were more tired than the kids from all their playing! What an amazing place to explore!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
Really love the sound of this place – sounds perfect to go to with kids. Oh, and those doughnuts look so delicious too…..