The Gaffield Children’s Garden at the U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens practically begs kids to run through its leafy arched entrance. On the other side is an understated playland—part garden, part park, part trail—that invites make believe. Kids can make a pretend fire in the tiny log cabin that’s tucked along the wooded trail or draw with chalk on the board in the amphitheater. They can imagine little fairy lives in the fairy garden, where some sprite has left miniature laundry hanging on the line to dry. Or they can build something impressive with the planks and blocks of wood left scattered around an open area. Or, if they’re like my kid, they can just run wild, squealing with delight at every thoughtful treasure, and end up in the sand pit.
And oh yeah, there are plants: a sensory planter with herbs to touch and smell, a vegetable garden with signs that tell you when you may harvest a sample, a hedge maze just tall enough to thrill a toddler. All this, for the price of feeding a parking meter, makes Matthaei one of the best summer deals around for families with kids.
And there are more treasures to find long after summer ends. On a blistering cold day in March, I introduced my two-year-old to the conservatory. I’d been hearing all winter that it was a great place to warm up, and, having visited a few times in my pre-parenting days, I knew this in theory. But beaten down by record-breaking cold and snow, I was unprepared for the sheer relief of tropical air, just a pane of glass away from the harsh Michigan wind.
It says it right there on the door: “This isn’t a park or a playground. No running.” But the little kid-friendly features sprinkled throughout the conservatory might as well have been winking at me as I read that notice. For starters, there are kaleidoscopes trained on a spinning planter full of tiny-leafed green things, and a step stool to allow easy access for those of shorter stature. Exquisite ceramic fairies make their homes next to exotic flowers or under giant tropical leaves. And there are koi. Where there are fish, there are kids. We were lucky to visit at feeding time that day, so Zuzu got to throw some food in the pond.
As we made our way to the staircase near the back of the tropical room, I marveled at glossy deep green leaves and bursts of bright pink and orange flowers, feeling slightly drunk on heat and moisture. At the top of the steps, we shed our coats and sat in chairs bathed in full sunlight. I actually got so hot that I felt relieved when the misters came on. We made our way to the arid room, with its Seussian agave (that made national news when it eventually broke through the ceiling later in the summer). Zuzu was impressed with (and only slightly afraid of) huge cacti she’d previously only seen in books.
It says it right there on the door: “This is a living museum.” Any time of year, a visit could make you feel a little more alive.
