Springtime in Ohio .. well lets me honest ...it's often cold and rainy .. winter doesn't want to leave and when it does it's usually leaves us with lots of grey rainy days. this year winter was early to arrive and just doesn't want to leave. Expecting snow today. but we had a few nice days and this Friday I took my mom around to some parks to see what we could see .. not sure if anything was blooming after all the cold, snow and ice. But we lucked out. It's been really windy lately and that Friday was a wind storm but we toughed it out and glad we did. Aullwood Garden was our last stop and I think it was our favorite. By that time the wind was not as strong and annoying or perhaps the woods blocked it. We didn't stop at the Audubon center at the top of the hill .. went to the free parking and just walked around the Aullwood Garden metropark. This was the prettiest we've even seen it. We lucked out. so much in bloom. The last time the daffodils ect were gone and it was mostly the Virginia blue bells and some other blue flower ... this year was ideal ... daffodils, blue bells and a bunch more I have no idea. Along with the variety of flowers .. the sound of rushing water and birds .. made this the peaceful nature therapy we sought. all free!!!! My mom is my best friend and we had been having a rift .. what a ideal place to walk and work it out. We left happy and feeling that closeness we usually have. Thank you Aull Family for donating this to be shared for years. you can see the house on top of a hill what was the Aull's home .. she loved art and nature .. I gather she was from Virginia and missed the Virginia Blue bells so her husband John had them planted all around their acreage along with lots of other plants and flowers. I heard they paid college student to work there planting. she was a nature lover a sculpture and lived to be 105. WOW. she started the area Audubon society and they donated there lovely property to the area .. what a spectacularly generosity. A employee of the park was walking about working and was super kind and helpful .. pointing out different plants we had questions about. I'm sure it's a lot of work to keep the garden looking this amazing. Please respect this park .. don't pick the plants or liter !!! Saw someone taking pics and instructing their kid to pic a flower to use as photo prop ... made me outraged but I didn't say anything ... well i mumbled what losers. passive...
Read moreI give this place a 5/5 because it’s beautiful! So beautiful that we saw two separate groups working with a photographer on the same day (both were maternity photos). So this is obviously a popular place for such things.
My husband somehow found this place while I was working and loved it so much that he brought me back the next day. We brought the baby and our running stroller. Be warned that none of the paths are paved, so don’t bring a stroller that can’t handle it.
The parking lot had plenty of spaces when we visited on a Sunday evening. It’s right by a big, beautiful stream of water. There’s also a large sign with a map of all the paths as well as pictures of the different locations.
We walked the whole park in well under thirty minutes. The paths are mostly flat, so there’s nothing strenuous.
I loved the sign telling about the old trees - about five hundred years old! I’ve never been to a park like that. It was like having a mini history...
Read moreAccidently went to the metro garden looking for the trolls, but eventually figured out they were at the Aullwood Audubon 😂 The garden was quite nice overall and definitely recommend if you're looking for a nice place for a stroll.
It cost $12/adult to see the trolls. The staff were very informative and gave easy to follow instructions. The trail one way is approximately 1.3 miles. There's several benches along the path to take a rest as needed. The trolls were absolutely adorable and I personally loved Bibbi the most 🥰 I absolutely recommend...
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