Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Enchanted Woods at Winterthur

Continuing our tour of the gardens at Winterthur from yesterpost...

The most popular outdoor spot at Winterthur for our children was the Enchanted Woods, a part of the garden specifically designed for children.

Follow the path to adventure

The first spot we enjoyed was Water's Edge, where a cute little frog is forever filling a little basin in front of him. A frog in the garden is supposed to be good luck, right?

Water's Edge

"Mind if I spit?"

My older son was fascinated by the Forbidden Fairy Ring. The tram driver told us that mist rises up and transports children to the fairy kingdom if they are not careful. The mists only work in warmer weather, though, so we didn't lose any children.

Forbidden Fairy Ring

To relax, my son stopped in the Acorn Tearoom which wasn't serving. We'll have to pack our own snack for next time!

Acorn Tearoom

The Gathering Green has a May Pole for dancing and welcoming spring. Too bad we came in April!

May Pole

The Fairie Cottage looks a bit undone but is fun to visit. In the summer, I'm sure it's a relief from the hot, hot sun.

Fairie Cottage

Brothers sitting at the window

The fireplace

Frog Hollow has a fun water feature that we couldn't quite figure out. Was it suffering from the same problem as the Fairy Ring?

Imitating big brother at Frog Hollow

Just beyond Frog Hollow is the Tulip Tree House. A giant tulip-poplar gave up the ghost after a hundred years of life and was given a swanky hat to become another little house in the garden.

Tulip Tree House

Siblings inside the Tulip Tree House

A nearby bench gave the kids a rest from resting. The bench is on chains so it swings back and forth just a bit.

A swing!

A gigantic bird's nest lets children experience a whole new kind of home, as well as provide some very substantial eggs to play with. I hope momma bird doesn't come home soon!

Bird's Next

Lifting an egg

An old-fashioned labyrinth is laid out near the nest. The stones are set in a curvy path to make a slight challenge for walking.

Labyrinth

Story stones surround a reading area that has one of those "give-one-take-one" lending libraries. The library is good for grabbing something to read to the kids as they relax on the benches. My son had enough relaxing and was trying the labyrinth walking trick on the stones surrounding the reading area.

Story stones with stories in storage

We had a lot of fun visiting the gardens. More on the house and museum in future posts!

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