Dow Gardens
1018 W. Main
St.
Midland, MI.
48640
1-800-362-4874
May 26, 2000
On May
26, while staying in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, we
decided to drive the short distance to Midland where the Dow
Gardens are located. Bob and I have visited several beautiful
gardens while traveling around and always like to visit local
gardens to compare them to what we have already seen. We found
the Gardens easily and went into the visitors center. The
admission was $3.00 for adults and $1.00 for children.
We found out from one of their brochures that the Gardens were
initially developed by Dr. Herbert H. Dow,
founder of the Dow Chemical Company, for the enjoyment of family,
friends and associates. Since the first spade of earth was turned
and the first tree planted in 1899, the Gardens have been enjoyed
by thousands of visitors from around the world. As Dr. Dow,
intended, the Gardens are constantly changing. Since 1973, major
construction, renovation, introduction of new plant
materials,
and the formation of educational objectives have taken place
within the Gardens. These changes are designed to provide the
visitor with a broad avenue to explore the entire display area.
Recent projects in the Gardens include the development of the
Exploration Garden and renovation of the Rose Garden. The Rose
Garden, a joint project between the Midland Garden Council and
the Dow Gardens, was initiated to display the old, yet
outstanding, varieties as well as
contemporary
cultivars. The thirty-acre Exploration Garden, provides a setting
for Trial Beds, Flood Plain Garden/Observation and research. The
Garden is made up of two separate gardens; the Estate Garden and
the Exploration Garden. Today the total area the Gardens covers
110 acres. This includes: rhododendrons, 20,000 tulips, 11,000
annual bedding plants, rose trails, formal rose gardens and some
1,200 different woody taxa growing in the garden. In order to
foster love of gardening, the Gardens offer horticultural
programs to the local gardeners. They also have a complementary
work-study internship program. In this way they are able to train
professionals in the maintenance of small and large area
landscapes.
One
of the most unique differences I saw right away
was the fact that not only did they allow you to step off the
walkways, they encouraged you to do so. The day we went it wasn't
very crowded, but I could only picture hundreds of inquisitive
tourists; adults and children alike, wandering over the
beautifully kept grass. I will have to say that it didn't look as
though it had suffered from rough use. We started out on the path
from the visitors center and came to an area called the
"sensory area." The signs invited you to "smell,
touch, hear" everything in that area. There was a father
with 2 small boys who were doing just that. I once heard someone
refer to the fact that small children try to Braille the world
until we, as adults, tell them "don't touch that!".
Then as they grow older their curiosity is curbed by the
restrictions we as society place on them. Well, here in the Dow
Gardens these two small boys were allowed free rein. The funny
part was, that while we consider small children to be
destructive, these boys were able to satisfy their curiosity but
really didn't show any tendency to try to destroy what they saw.
It was charming.
We then went into the conservatory. They had allowed birds to run
and fly, at large, inside the conservatory. There were a couple
of Chinese Quail walking around on the floor, and some canaries
and other birds flying around. The flowers, of course, were
gorgeous, but having the birds flying around really added
something of a "nature-land" atmosphere to it all. The
Quail were really cute. They were very small and would almost
waddle around calling to each other. Finally we had to go back
out into the real world. We headed for the Dow House. I found out
from a caretaker that they have open house there the 3rd Friday
of each month, but that you have to make arrangements ahead of
time. The house was large, but not particularly 
impressive.
After looking around the outside of the house, we went on our
way. Bob has taken up a hobby of identifying trees of North
America. We were able to add a couple of trees to our list in the
gardens, however, many of the trees growing here were imported
from other countries, so they really weren't able to get added to
our collection. As we started heading back to the visitors
center, I spotted a cat, I had seen at the house, with a chipmunk
in his mouth. Well, being the nut I am about animals I quickly
took chase. It must have been quite a sight. The cat with the
chipmunk in his mouth being chased by a lady set on rescue. The
cat went underneath a large pine tree.
Bob kept telling me
there was nothing I could do, and that the chipmunk was probably
dead already. Well, I managed to fit under this huge pine tree
with the cat giving me a rather strange look. I yelled at it and
his mouth came open. With that the chipmunk rolled over, and
started running up the nearest tree branch. Of course, the cat
took chase as far up as he could go. With that I grabbed the cat
and not-too-gently pitched him outside of the tree. When last
seen, the little chipmunk was steadily climbing further up into
the tree. I could have sworn I heard a little "thanx"
as I walked away.
Since we had walked quite a distance we ambled our way up the
path to the visitors center, with my poor husband shaking his
head about his crazy wife wanting to save the world.
Anyway, the gardens were lovely and the trip and walk were well
worth it. I believe most of the garden is wheelchair accessible.
If you'd like to take a look at their website drop by: http://www.dowgardens.org.
Good Luck! Have Fun! and Stay Safe!
Laura