As summer wanes, the kids in your life might be lamenting the long, inevitable slide into winter. But hold on just a second. There is warm-weather time left for all of us, especially in the public gardens with which the Midwest is abundantly blessed. What’s more, there are plenty intended just for children.
In Wisconsin is one in particular that children are likely to enjoy, recalling the best of their bedtime stories. The 2-acre public garden pairs Johnny Appleseed with a small orchard, places Winnie the Pooh in the woods, and introduces “Make Way for Ducklings” near a pond.
Bookworm Gardens, on the outskirts of Sheboygan, matches many well-known stories for children to a book’s setting, so plots seem a little more real and connections to nature seem natural. There is room for Jack’s beanstalk, Charlotte’s web and houses for the “Three Little Pigs.” Then there is a Japanese teahouse, a treehouse, a covered wagon, an immovable school bus, a butterfly garden and dinosaurlike bones. At least 50 book titles show up, some subtle, some obvious.
Each of six themed gardens (one grows farm vegetables, another has aquatic life) is equipped with a corresponding set of laminated stories to read while roaming, borrowing a rocking chair or settling into an Adirondack chair with slats that look like giant crayon sticks. The tightly designed hideaway, on the University of Wisconsin at Sheboygan campus, is open May through October; admission is free.
To create the place, garden lovers, librarians, parents and others spent years brainstorming about how to get kids off of their electronic gadgetry and outdoors. Programming at Bookworm Gardens, open since 2010, also benefits older adults, particularly those with memory challenges. Pathways are paved and wide enough for wheelchairs.
The garden is a venue for the free and nonprofit Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival, Oct. 9-11. “A World of Wonders” is the theme this year, showcasing books about discovery, invention and science. Speakers include San Francisco book illustrator Christian Robinson, whose recent collaboration with author Matt de la Pena on “Last Stop on Market Street” is a New York Times best-seller. www.sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org
Later in October, some book characters come to life on weekends at Bookworm Gardens, which temporarily opens after dark and turns haunted. www.bookwormgardens.org, 920-287-7895
Other Midwest cities pay attention to children with special gardens that nurture an interest in plants in unique, creative ways. They are open all year unless otherwise noted.
Botanica, Wichita, Kan.: Polliwog Pond, Salamander Spring, Sunflower Plaza and the Enchanted Glen are some of the stops for wee ones who will see a rainbow of arches, a giant dragonfly made of auto parts and many small-scale surprises. A maze is for making music, a carved tree is for climbing and a giant anthill is for digging. Also in the 1-acre garden, open since 2011 at 19-acre Botanica, is a red barn for drop-in activities. www.botanica.org, 316-264-0448
Cleveland Botanical Garden: Kids can dig into dirt, splash through a water fountain, follow hidden paths and climb a treehouse in the children’s garden, open since 1999. It is one of nine themed gardens on 10 acres, not counting the Glasshouse with its rain forest habitat and butterflies. Thursday morning is drop-in nature story time for younger children. www.cbgarden.org, 216-721-1600
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Mich.: A 5-acre garden for children (out of 158 total acres) engages all five senses and encourages interaction. Suspended bridges connect a village of treehouses. A beaver lodge and a bird nest are big enough for youngsters to enter. Fossils await discovery in a rock quarry, but the marquee attraction is an above-ground replica of the Great Lakes that invites toy-boat floating and bridge building. www.meijergardens.org, 616-957-1580
Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden, East Lansing: It’s less than one of 14 acres at the Michigan State University gardens, but at least 50 child-friendly themes are identified in the compact space, open since 1993. Some plants get storybook names; others are identified in the ABC KinderGarten. Topiary is shaped like teddy bears and a big bird; fruit trees are dwarf-sized. Guided tours and scavenger hunts can be arranged, for a fee, but garden admission is free. Open from sunrise to sunset daily, April through October. www.4hgarden.cowplex.com, 517-355-5191
Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis: About two of the 79 acres at this National Historic Landmark are set aside to teach children state history and ecology through a plot of wetlands, treehouse, waterfall, miniature prairie town, limestone cave and steamboat. Staffers use garden tools and puppets during hands-on “germination station” activities that change daily. Open April through October. www.mobot.org, 314-577-5100
The Morton Arboretum, Lisle: A Sept. 13 birthday party with activities, music and treats marks the 10th anniversary of the children’s garden and its windmill area, meadow, grove of trees and woodsy grotto with stream, spanning four of the arboretum’s 1,700 acres. Up through Nov. 1 are nature-inspired sculptures made with nearly 500,000 Lego bricks by New York artist Sean Kenney. www.mortonarb.org, 630-968-0074
Quad City Botanical Center, Rock Island, Ill.: Open since 2014 is the first part of a children’s garden whose anchor is a small-scale version of the Mississippi River that is shallow enough to walk and within view of the real thing. Beds of flowers and ornamental grasses flank the mini Mississippi. Other nature adventures revolve around the number four, as in four seasons and four directions. www.qcgardens.com, 309-794-0991
Mary Bergin is a freelance reporter.
