A Literacy program of reading books and sharing activities. Designed for preschoolers. Every Thursday morning at 10:30am the group will read a book at various locations in the Gardens. On rainy days the group will meet in the Larkins Classroom. FREE to MBG members, cost of admission for nonmembers, and registration is required. All children must be accompanied by parent or assigned adult guardian.
Tea Maze
Located at the top of the WinterGarden, the shape of tea maze is inspired by a Chinese medallion from the Ming Dynasty. These plants were grown from cuttings of the plants from the old Lipton Tea plantation in Baldwin County. Did you know that tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis? Have fun exploring – you could get lost!
Woodland Trails
Take a hike through our woodland trails!
The Katherine Shropshire Trail is one of the earliest trails marked in the woods, was dedicated to one of the Gardens’ earliest supporters in 1981.
Renovated in 2014, this marked trail is a 1/4 mile walk through a wooded area. It meanders along the banks of the small stream that leads to the Three-Mile Creek (Path A on the trail map). Longer trails branch off from this smaller trail and offer a true deep woods experience!
The careful observer may be treated with the sight of many different forms of wildlife as well as a wide variety of plants and trees native to our area.
Don’t forget about our 35-acre Longleaf Conservation Forest which is located outside of our gated design gardens. It is filled with great walking trails, educational signage, and free and open to the public year round. Look for information on scheduled controlled burns – a truly exciting experience for both kids and adults!
Picnic
Grab your picnic basket and a blanket and come on over! We have lots of great places to have a picnic including tables by the Koi Pond, in the Herb Garden, and in the Longleaf Forest.
NatureBLAST!
This week long summer camp is a wonderful introduction to outdoor experiences and nature for rising 3rd and 4th graders will cover such topics as “Bees, Butterflies and Botany”, “Reptiles and Amphibians”, and “Woodland Monsters and Fairy Houses”. Activities include hikes on nature trails, nature scavenger hunts and daily investigations of how plants and animals interact. The program is typically scheduled for the 3rd week of June.