Tiana's Garden

We had a great time last year when we went to the Botanic Gardens, so we were looking forward to going back. Marina decided that she wanted to dress in a princess costume. She spent some time deciding last night before picking out the Tiana costume. I think the decorative leaves on it were the reason she chose that one.

We started our day in the Children' Garden. Marina enjoyed looking at the colorful flower displays. When we came on the wading creek, she was happy to take off her shoes and splash around. She played until we were ready for lunch. So we walked over to the main garden.

Once we got to the cafe, Marina was so engrossed in the map of all the gardens that I had to remind her to eat. She planned out which gardens we would go to after we ate.

We both love lilacs, so we went to the lilac garden first. It's been a tough year for lilacs because of a late freeze, so we were happy to see that many of the bushes has flowers on them. We took a while to smell the flowers before moving on.

Since Marina was wearing her Tiana costume, we make sure to take her picture near all the lily pads we saw.

The rose gardens were not blooming yet, so we headed over to the greenhouse. It was very warm in there, but Marina was too happy to see the treehouse in there to notice. She took the elevator rather than climb the stairs, so I think she missed out on some of the best scenery.

We walked through the romantic gardens and as we were headed out, we ran into a little girl dressed as Snow White. Of course, Marina had to go over and meet her. They had run running around the amphitheater grass and chasing geese.

Her new friend's family was leaving, so Marina decided she was ready to go home as well.