Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying the definite fall weather of late. I won’t even mention the spring weather our friends from below the equator are experiencing. Yes, that’s the green in me!
I’m just going to hop right back and tell you more about our stop in Grand Rapids while traveling to Wisconsin and Illinois in late July and I wanted to share another really cool thing to do in Grand Rapids: the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The weather wasn’t great, a little unseasonably cold and rainy, but it didn’t stop us from exploring and I’m sure glad we did. I definitely recommend this little outing; the gardens are beautiful to walk through and the sculptures throughout are captivating. There are even a couple of August Rodin and Henry Moore pieces; both artists are dear to me because I have seen quite a few of their pieces (Rodin Museum in Paris and in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto). And there were several moments that I thought of my dear blogging friends: Norma from Garden to Wok (because of the frogs she collects in her garden), Celi, the Kitchen’s Garden (because of the cows and the pigs she has on her farmie), Genie, Bunny, eats, design, because she has the beautiful and mischievous Tofu the bunny rabbit. So if your ears were burning in late July, you now know that it was because of me!
The Frederik Meijer Gardens are a bit of a drive from down town and admission is a reasonable $12 for adults and $4 for 3-4 years old and $6 for 5-13 — parking is free; it’s a long walk through the gardens, so wear comfy shoes (famous last words, eh ladies?)! The weather was a bit iffy, so we did a brusque walk completing the tour in about two hours, so a gentle stroll will last at least three to four hours. They even have some lovely green houses holding some very exotic plants, in case you need a break from the chill outside. There is also an interactive kids section which we passed on.
I hope you have a chance to watch the slide show below, and to perhaps some day visit the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We were not compensated for this review, it is strictly our opinion.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
1000 East Beltline NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
(616) 957-1580 | Toll-Free: 888-957-1580
Kitcheninspirations 
just love the toads (or frogs?) on the plinths in the woodland area – amusing and fun to see. I nearly went to a college which has Henry Morores in the gardens, now that would have been inspiring eh?!
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Many of the statues were amusing and whimsical Claire, thank you for your comment.
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It looks like a very unusual place to visit. I am the one who appreciates the comment about shoes 😉 I don’t wear high heels, but I would be tempted to go there in nice ballerinas I use to visit cities… I could never wear trainers to go around a city.
We still have a warm and sunny weather here, so I cross my fingers it doesn’t change soon. Sometimes I don’t need a coat here until late October!
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You have me looking forward to a visit there more and more! 🙂 It’s always nice to reflect back on travels (especially summer travels!). Enjoy your day Eva!
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Thank you Kristy, it was one of the top three things to do in Grand Rapids, and well worth it. We had hoped to see a Frank Lloyd Wright house as well but we ran out of time; gives us something to do next time!
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Hi Eva, that looks like a fine place to visit – that sculpture in pic 0627 is quite striking… it really caught my eye on the way down! Definitely fall weather here too, but that’s fine – I really like it personally. It’s nice to be away from the unbearable heat!
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Thank you Charles, it was a very nice place to go, I just wish the weather was a little sunnier. I don’t mind the fall so much, but impending winter really bogs me down. And thinking that we won’t see spring for another 8 months is also a bummer. But I do like the cooler temperatures, we’ve even had a few fires in our fireplace. The week is turning a bit warmer but I’m afraid shorts and T’s weather is gone for the time being!
0627 was a very interesting sculpture, and huge! I tried to figure if the letters made up any words but I think they were all random. The sculptures all had name plates attached but no explanation which is a shame. What was really cool was how the sculpture interacted with the surroundings, which you normally don’t experience in a museum.
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Wow, what an amazing sculpture garden. It’s spring here, but I have the heating on as there’s still a chill in the air. Thank you for sharing your visit xo
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Hi Lizzy, thank you so much for your kind words. It’s going to be warming up later this week, but I can definitely smell fall in the air over here. Lucky you have spring…only 8 more months!
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Thanks for the mention, would love to add one of those frogs to my collection. My son lives in Michigan, so perhaps one of these days I will have the opportunity to visit the garden.
Don’t tell me you wore heels to the garden.
This year’s weather sure has been challenging, but all things considered, I cannot complain. Who knows, may be we will have a mild winter,
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Hi Norma, thank you for your kind words. No, I did not wear heels, sort of, well, they were running shoes with heels! We’re actually expecting the temperatures to warm up later this week. I hope the rains are over, it’s a menace on my head!
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Outstanding garden!
i guess this could be good background for prewedding photo shoots…
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You’re absolutely right Dedy, I never thought of that. I bet on a sunny day it’s packed with brides and grooms.
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Beautiful gardens! The weather here isn’t nice either..so you are not alone. This year we had a really long winter, then lousy cold spring and very short summer…and now…just rainy!
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Thanks Angie, hopefully the winter will be better.
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I love sculpture gardens. It’s just so fun to have art and nature in the same place! 🙂
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It sure is, thank you Betsy. I really loved how they incorporated the art into nature in some cases — really worked well together.
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It’s a shame the weather wasn’t better because the gardens do look like they have a sculpture to appeal to everyone. I think 2 hrs would probably be my limit of time walking regardless of the weather followed by a nice cup of coffee or cocoa and some sandwiches and cakes. For some reason the boar caught my eye. 🙂
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Hi Maria, the sculptures were absolutely captivating, really made you want to stop and look at them from all angles. The two hours was a good pace, I wish we could have lingered at some pieces a bit more.
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I love sculpture gardens! We have a beautiful one about 5 miles from here.
I won’t talk about how gorgeous the weather is right now. I’m off to eat another red tomato!
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How nice Maureen, to have a sculpture garden so close to home. I certainly do appreciate you not talking about your gorgeous weather. 😉
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The weather stinks here too Eva… I feel with you.
haha yeah comfy shoes are a must in gardens. Looks like you had a great time there. I personally enjoy strolling through gardens like this, they give me a great feeling. Now I don’t know about my husband if he would enjoy it as much.
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Hi Helene, fortunately my husband enjoyed it as much as I did, thank goodness. I would have hated to have to do it by myself.
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I’m not going to mention how good the weather is here in Sydney. Those gardens look truly beautiful and it’s such a shame you weren’t able to experience them during better weather however, it seems you definitely made the most of the occasion xx
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Thanks Charlie, I do appreciate it! Have this type of weather just makes me want to walk through it all over again in the sun.
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