Thursday, September 15, 2016

Orange You Glad It's Autumn At The Arboretum!



More than 90,000 Texas pumpkins are on their way to being featured in this year's Autumn at the Arboretum national fall festival. Named one of "America's Best Pumpkin Festivals" by Fodor's Travel and "One of the World's 15 Most Breathtaking Gardens" by Architectural Digest, this year's event at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden will highlight the "Art of the Pumpkin," September 17 to November 23. For the 11th year, Autumn at the Arboretum will include the popular one-acre Pumpkin Village in the Pecan Grove, featuring artful arrangements of tens of thousands of pumpkins, gourds, squash, bales of hay and cornstalks. They will be used together to create pumpkin houses that represent naturally occurring patterns in nature to mirror the "Art of the Pumpkin" theme. Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage will also return, courtesy of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center at White Rock, set amidst the garden's remaining summer flowers, as well as 150,000 fall blooms like chrysanthemums, ornamental grasses, copper plants and firebush, and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The popular Haybale Maze will also return with the Tom Thumb Pumpkin Patch offering pumpkins for purchase, and the Great Pumpkin Search.

The Arboretum will also feature this year's selfie hit, The Great Contributors exhibit by Sculptor Gary Lee Price - eight life-size bronze statues set through November 27. In addition to pictures throughout the fall garden, guests can grab selfies with Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Claude Monet, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain or the Wright Brothers. Guests are also welcome to stop by the Pecan Grove to visit our newest addition to Gary Lee Price's Bronze Statues Exhibit, Delbert the Dragon and his book club, encouraging children's literacy.

Don't think that the Dallas Arboretum is just for kids! They have just announced their Fall 2016 Adult Programs, sponsored by Full Color Inc., featuring a variety of expert-led special interest classes for adults. This year's line-up includes horticulture, landscape, photography, art, tastings, day trips and more, all available for registration online. Classes are offered at various days and times in a range of formats and settings, including demonstrations and lectures. They begin at $30 for members, with costs for each class including parking and admission to the garden. Some classes also offer continuing professional education (CPE) credit for educators.

Visit the Dallas Arboretum's website for a complete calendar of events including their famous Cool Thursday Concerts, Roald Dahl Weekends, Tour des Fleurs, Kimberly-Clark Mommy & Me Mondays and Tiny Tot Tuesdays, Nature Nights, Shakespeare Dallas, Oktoberfest Beer Garten, Halloween activities and MORE! http://www.dallasarboretum.org/

Photo c/o Dallas Arboretum