Greetings and Salutations;
There are many interesting places to visit if touring the Atlanta area, but, I thought I would mention one that I visited earlier this week. the
Atlanta botanical gardens are a really spiffy way to spend some time. They are quite accessible, and, have a variety of environments to move through. Their collection of orchids is pretty amazing to see. The variety of plant shapes and flowers can be mind-boggling. Not only are the plants themselves fascinating and lovely, but, there are some interesting notes on insects that have evolved ways of interacting with them, so as to use them for sustinence, etc. One, for example, is a moth that evolved an amazingly long probiscis so as to be able to reach the nectar pool at the bottom of the long, narrow, tubular flower the orchid had.
In 2010, the gardens opened a
“canopy walk” . This is a fairly artistic, arched walkway that rises some 30-40′ off the ground. It is not really at the very top of the canopy of trees it goes through, but, it does raise one up to a point between two of the canopy layers. It is an enjoyable walk and provides one with a different perspective on the plant life in the gardens. Another really positive thing for both my sister, Cathy, and me was the fact that they have a LOT of benches scattered around the walks, so it is quite easy to find a place to sit and catch one’s breath, or, contemplate some of the plants and their environment.
About the only down side is that, since it is near down-town Atlanta, it is pretty much impossible to get away from the constant thrum and rumble of traffic. However, that noise is not terribly intrusive, and does recede into the background, like the pounding of waves on the shore by the ocean.
All in all, it is quite a good destination, and, is not all that expensive to get into (especially if one of the group is a member!). It is quite large, though, and, so, if one is going to explore at any length, it will be a full day. For example, we had a couple of specific destinations out of the several available, and, ended up walking around for about three hours. If one explores more of the park, it could easily be six or seven hours. It is quite large.
