Take the Kids: JC Raulston Arboretum

The garden is open seven days a week and free! It features 10 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and pathways. Part of the mission of the Arboretum is to “introduce, display and promote plants that diversify the American landscape.”

My youngest is about to turn 2 years old and is currently only interested in making his own decisions and exercising his freedom. The best part about the Arboretum is that he could safely do that! There are multiple paths. Some are brick, some are rock, some are sand and some are paved. He and my daughter could choose where they wanted to go and had a blast skipping along the paths as if it were their own secret garden.

They loved seeing the butterflies and birds. We talked about the different colors we saw and they were happy to have the freedom to explore (as long as they stayed on the paths). Again, having a variety of well-designated paths allowed the kids to choose their own way to go with little guidance from me. I only had to chase my toddler out of a garden bed once (and no plants were harmed in the process). They also followed the “look, but don’t touch” rule very easily.

We stayed for about 45-minutes and walked about half of the gardens. Even on an overcast day, the beautiful colors and open air rejuvenated all of our spirits.