Little Allurements

I love to give away flowers to visitors to Hershey Children’s Garden. There is something magical in a stimulatingly-colorful bloom that excites the senses. For example, one little girl gets excited over daisies, looking for more each time she visits. Zoe can not get enough of her favorite flower. Children leave with a bright memory in hand and a reason to return.

Myself, I love to pick flowers apart (No, not to determine the state of my love life.) to see the amazing design and construction in detail. Plants should be proud of the amazing “for sale” signs they produce to market themselves. This month is all about pollinators and the flowers they love. Garden staff discuss with visitors why some flowers need pollinating and why pollination is important to human beings, so make it a point to ‘petal’ on down. Maybe you, too, will leave with memories in hand.

Posted By Josh Steffen

Simply Chiming

Do you want to know what I am stoked about? Probably not, but since I am suppose to blog, I am going to share any way. I am excited about wind chimes! No not the annoying kind that everyone insists upon hanging from the front porch but the unusual. I was walking through the theme gardens on site with parents when I came across a very large single bell type chime. Instantly, I had a hunkering for new sounds in the garden.
Wind chimes, well made, provide a great dimension many do not consider in their gardening. . .sound. Interesting chimes add something to the air that when mixed with great visual and smelly interest makes a complete garden sensual experience.

One does not just hang a wind chime wherever, especially in a children’s garden. Sitting the fabulous chimes (shameless plug) I purchased from our very own gift shop (check out the upcoming tent sale by the way) took some careful thought. First, I want visitors to hear the sound before they see the chime. It adds mystery. Second, the chime must be in a part of the garden where wind passes through easily (not easy in an overgrown jungle). Lastly, and this is important for my garden, the chime had to be out of reach of most hands. Though I love for kids to engage things in the garden, the idea of mass groups of kids stumbling over each other to smack a gong or pull a clacker did not seem overly safe.

So. . .come on down for some sound fun.

Posted by Josh Steffen