If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you already know that I’ve been in the throes of botanical garden fever all year long. And a couple of weeks ago I wrote about night garden walking, lured by the promise of artful lights strewn on and around the flora. Well, the season of night lights in gardens is officially under way. My friend Janet and I recently went to Illumination Night at Garden in the Woods, an event exclusively for members. Spoiler alert: it was big fun.
The main path through the area– a cross between garden and woods, hence the name– was lit up with luminaries/luminaria(s) with real flickering votive candles inside. We were first greeted by a welcome-barn and then a lights arbor, showing us to the path.
Once on the path, there were the luminaries to guide us the whole way through.
There were loads of people there, and tons of kids delightedly running around. I heartily approved; having permission to roam around in nature after dark is a delight. And we were rewarded with a variety of cool lights– some dotting the landscape, and others grouped for maximum coolness.
And of course, because it was close to Halloween, there had to be some more ominous lights: the eyes watching us.
Once we got through the route, the lights were on again. We were greeted with a brightly-lit area with food vendors, picnic tables and a fire pit to hang out around.
Of course, what outing would be complete with the obligatory selfies? I say selfies because we took two: one light and one dark. You can determine for yourself which one is better.
When I googled “lights at botanical gardens” I got a ton of information about the shows being put on all over the place. I already have my tickets for the Solstice walk at Mount Auburn Cemetery in mid-December, but I will be looking for more opportunities to get outside at night, strolling and chatting and oohing and aahing over lights at night.
Dear readers, have you been to any garden light events at night? Any plans to do so? I’d love to hear about it.
