Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens
Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens
The moment we walked into the conservatory, we were surrounded by a flurry of color. Butterflies and moths floated around us, landing on our shoulders, spinning and soaring around our heads . The annual Wings of Fancy live exhibit features hundreds of butterflies from all over the world! Check out the display of chrysalids and you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a butterfly emerging! Be sure to pick up a full-color butterfly identification guide for $1 from the gift shop to help you identify your favorite species. The guides will let you touch and hold several species and will lend you a magnifying glass to get an up-close view.
Enjoy a stroll through the outdoor butterfly garden and learn how to grow your own. Then take your time to check out our favorite gardens—the aquatic garden, the children’s garden, and the Japanese garden with a gazebo and labyrinth. Don’t miss the brand new playground—it is truly unique! A 2-story tube slide, nicely shaded sand-play area, a huge climbing mound, as well as nets and gymnastics equipment will keep your little and big kids playing for hours!
Wheaton Regional Parks encompasses more than 500 acres, and in additional to Brookside Gardens and Nature Center, offers horseback riding, ice skating, a miniature train, carousel, an adventure playground, and beautiful lake. Your family can easily spend the entire day exploring the park, making it worth the drive to Silver Spring. There are numerous picnic shelters and grills near the playground, as well as lots of family-friendly dining options within minutes of the park.
Wings of Fancy is open through Sunday, October 25, 2015 from 10:00am – 4:00pm daily. Tickets are $8 ages 13 and up; $5 ages 3-12; free ages 0-2.
Parking is free!
Chrysanthemum Craftmanship and The Brookside Gardens Conservatories
Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, November 29
10:00am – 5:00pm daily; FREE
Versatile Chrysanthemums carry the show when the Conservatories are filled with plants of all shapes, sizes, flower types and colors. The display will include miniature plants that resemble bonsai trees and vertical panels of flowers almost six feet tall. The Conservatories house a large collection of tropical plants including banana, giant bird of paradise, and Calliandra (Powderpuff tree) as well as seasonal displays in the spring, summer, and autumn and a terrific holiday show.
Note: Wheaton Regional Park has 3 entrances—please note that the main parking area at the visitor’s center is closed for construction. Park at Brookside Nature Center for easiest access to the Wings of Fancy exhibit, then you may want to move your car to the Shorefield playground lot if you plan to take advantage of the play area, train and carousel (there is a mile-long walk back to the nature center lot from the playground).
Brookside Gardens is apart of Montgomery County Parks and Recreation
Thanks for this post. Just left The Butterfly Exhibit and had a great time with my 3 year old son. Worth checking out.
Mece,
Thank you so much for reading the blog! I’m glad that you visited the Butterfly Exhibit! If you have any suggestions on places to visit, please let me know!