A Day at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens

I spent a fun day earlier this week visiting the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I remember going there once at a young age but haven't been back since. It's about 35 miles from where I live and I've been trying to get back to it for a long time now. Needless to say, my expectations weren't let down.

Norfolk Botanical Garden is nationally recognized for its deep-rooted history and celebrated for its blooms in every season. The 155 acre garden is home to 30 distinctive themed gardens, 95 species of birds and 30 different kinds of butterflies. There's also a 3-acre children's garden where they can explore the connections between plants and the environment.

Here my daughter is intrigued with a tiger swallowtail butterfly.

The butterfly exhibit was one of the more exciting areas, especially for the kids. This enclosed exhibit was filled with hundreds of butterflies.

Black Swallowtail

Gulf Fritillary

The Japanese Garden was another favorite.

Norfolk Botanical Gardens has one of the largest, most extensive collections of azaleas, rhododendrons and roses on the East Coast. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait and go back next spring to see them in peak bloom; however, there were plenty of other blooms to explore. The following is some of my favorite photos I took in the gardens.

A few roses were still looking good...

The park was home to some gorgeous crepe myrtles.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief pictorial tour of the gardens. If you're ever in the area and have a day to spare, swing by Norfolk and visit their botanical gardens - you wont be disappointed.

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