Leisure Lines

REFLECTIONS from a practitioner and educator who served 44 years in the field of recreation and leisure services

Thursday, June 01, 2017

Gardens and Sculptures


GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan is home to one of the nation's premier parks featuring gardens and sculptures. Just imagine being in the middle of sights, smells and sounds of nature - both inside and outdoors - among 158 acres of natural meadows, woodlands and wetlands. It's the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.

The Park includes fascinating plants from various world-wide ecosystems including a tropical rainforest, an arid desert, and a carnivorous plant house. A permanent sculpture collection includes more than 200 masterworks by artists from around the world.

Other special areas in the Park feature a children's garden; a 1930's-era Michigan farm garden, complete with a barn, farmhouse, windmill, heirloom vegetable garden and animal sculptures; and, a Japanese garden.

Truly, the gardens and sculptures offer a place of unbelievable beauty. And, I was there - along with my wife!  We were introduced to the Park by dear friends who live in the area. In fact, we were so impressed with the Park, that on our next visit to Michigan several years later we asked our friends to go again.

What an opportunity to explore, to stimulate the senses, to absorb a cultural experience, and to uncover a superb leisure destination.  We found that the Park's motto was exactly right: always growing, always beautiful, always new. It's my hunch that you would be as impressed as we were!