Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI

Little more than 30 miles away we visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The 132 acre combination of wetlands, woodlanes, meadows and gardens are truly enjoyable. This summer they are having an exhibit of Dale Chihuly's glasswork. It is amazing how his art reflects the surroundings with each piece. I only have 100 more photos.

There is also a sculpture park and both large and small are scattered throughout.

Several glass enclosed buildings had collections of carnivorous plants, tropical plants, etc. I especially liked the carnivorous ones.

Did I mention Chihuly?

And some plants are even real.

A 45 minute narrated tram tour took us around the sculpture garden. This is the biggest horse I have ever seen!

Water was everywhere: marshes, ponds, waterfalls.

So who woke this guy up!?

There was also a farm with sculpture animals and a child's area with ponds that were a replica of the great lakes. The kids could start a boat at the top and watch it float down through all of the lakes. The gardens were built 15 years ago and it is a first class operation. We were pleased to use our reciprocal agreement from Garvan Gardens to get in free!