Powell Gardens

Out family first visited with a friend in mid December. It was a nice jacket weather kind of day and we nearly had the place to ourselves during daylight hours. After the sun went down they had a special event complete with refreshments, crafts for kids, live musicians, a candlelight walk including smokes over the fire and carolers in the gorgeous chapel. I can only imagine how beautiful and fragrant this place must be in the spring and plan to be back! Also an elegant place for a wedding any time of year.

Here for the GLOW event and it’s busy. Everything seems organized but there are a lot of people. Lines are long.

I have to be honest and compare to my previous visit here in 2008: the price has gone up and the quality of the visit has gone waaay down and it’s so unfortunate.
Right before my daughter’s first birthday, I took her here and got some gorgeous photos of her with all sorts of flowers and fauna; all of the photos were taken toward the end of April, beginning of May. Six years later, visiting at around the same time of year, there has been some expansion but the flora is sadly lacking. The admission fee is a bit high for not having much to see. Again, this is all compared to my first visit and I was so looking forward to the same type of experience.
What was absolutely disappointing was what used to be the orchid gallery in the back of the visitor’s center. What once housed lush, breathtaking and exquisite orchids now has a handful of plants positioned high up in a «chandelier» contraption. In the gallery now is, I’m guessing, an artist showing their take on plants intersecting in everyday life: there’s a female mannequin in a bathtub full of blue and white Christmas ornaments (again, I’m guessing, these must represent bubbles). Her face is covered in moss and well, the whole thing was odd and lame.
The photos I posted from this visit were some of the orchids that were a little more accessible to my height and were very pretty but I wished for more.

I’ve been wanting to check this place out for a while now and a few months ago a friend told me about Nature Connects which is a LEGO exhibit where they have LEGO sculptures throughout the gardens. We like LEGO, so I figured this would be a perfect surprise date for the husband! A chance to walk around, see LEGO, and explore something new to us. Anyway, per usual, I procrastinated. Then last week, I finally realized that this was our last weekend in town before the exhibit ended (end of Sept) I knew we would be in City Market for the Broadway Bridge Run so I told the husband to bring a change of clothes because I was going to surprise him with an adventure after the run. We hit up Succotash and then took off. It was about a 45 minute ride from downtown and once we were there we could tell we were miles away from KC. The gardens were gorgeous! It was $ 10/​person to get in and an extra $ 1/​person for unlimited trolley rides. Unfortunately, we picked the hottest day this summer to venture out, but it was still a great time. We really liked the LEGO exhibit and they provided a map so you could be sure to see each sculpture. There are some shady paths especially in the gorgeous Rock and Waterfall garden. I also liked the chapel which would be such an amazing place to get married and it was neat going up into the silo where you can see for miles. The heat might have been blessing because the gardens were very quiet. Very peaceful. The trolley was only $ 1, but man that thing could use some maintenance. If it isn’t so hot, you can probably just skip it and walk, but I felt fine paying the $ 1 knowing it was going towards the gardens and upkeep. While it is a long drive, it is only $ 10 to get in. We basically just walked the paths and it took us about 2 hours. You could easily spend 2 — 5 hours here if you meandered, took the 3 mile hiking trail that we skipped or just wanted to sit for a while on one of the many shaded benches. I also am kicking myself for not eating at Café Thyme while we were there because a lot of the food served is grown on site and it looks fantastic. This is also a great place for kids. They have a splash fountain for kids to run around in, a whole separate kid’s garden area, sandboxes, a faux pirate ship climbing playground and just tons of room to run and play. We had a fun trip and while the LEGO exhibit is leaving soon, it is still worth the trip and I know they rotate exhibits like that in and out all the time. A fun, active date day!

I enjoy visiting the garden alone or with my kids. They have a spray ground that you can cool off in and there are well shaded picnic areas. The trail is just over 3 miles long (this is a trail off to the side and is an option — it’s not something you have to walk on) remember to take your stroller — I can’t believe I forgot mine but we were able to squeeze a good few hours out of our visit without it thanks to enough interesting stuff for the kiddos. We brought snacks and ate at one of the shaded picnic tables. The chapel is lovely and makes for some great photos. I am a photographer with Freeland Photography, I’ve shot out there a few times and am still in awe of the beauty of this garden.

We stopped here on a whim because we read that they had a day Lilly sale. After 4 hours of walking through the grounds and buying $ 100 of Day Lil lies I’d say we had a very nice time.

So, part of the consolation of moving back to Kansas City and leaving the just 5-​minutes away Missouri Botanical Garden is finding out what a hidden treasure Powell Gardens.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Powell Gardens is in all likelihood the same size as the Missouri Botanical Garden in terms of property but in terms of the size of the groomed area you can visit, it’s probably ¹⁄₃ of the size. It’s a modest property, with a great learning center that has a café and gift shop. That being said, there are over 900 acres of walking trails that the Missouri Botanical Garden does not have (take that, Lou braggers :-)
It was $ 9.50 for the entrance (per person) and I don’t really think picnicking is encouraged, but I don’t think they’ll mind if you have some small things to eat while you’re on a bench. Just don’t expect to spread out some blankets with your Grey Poupon.
There are some great butterfly sanctuaries where you are going to see caterpillars and butterflies in force. It’s just as magical to see the children laugh, comment, and smile at these graceful little creatures as it is to watch them yourself.
The different gardens all have their own magic, especially the «island garden» with a whole bunch of waterfalls.
In an effort to stay relevant/​attract kids there are «Jurassic» exhibits dotting the entire property, with model dinosaurs to boot!
Good fun for the kids — not cheap — but definitely off the beaten track and worth your time and the drive.

Powell Gardens is an absolute must for everyone to visit. It’s also the most scenic location for a family outing, date, proposal, or a wedding. Its 915 acres of land is downright breath-​taking, gorgeously landscaped, and is sectioned into distinct areas which I will attempt to describe.
Heartland Harvest: According to their website, this is the nation’s largest «edible landscape» that serves to teach you about the seed-​to-​plate process. This vegetarian felt like she was a kid in a candy store exploring the 12 acres of various varieties of vegetables and fruit. I have never seen so many varieties of lettuce, artichokes, strawberries, apples, and other edible plants in my life. The rows and rows of ripe strawberries begged for me to pluck them directly from their vines but I refrained (mostly because of reprimands from my fiancé). Do not fear if you get hungry like I did. In front of the silo, you can sample freshly-​picked items from the garden!
Quilt Gardens: This is located inside of the Heartland Harvest area but can best be viewed from on top the 45 foot silo. The plants are arranged in traditional «Old Missouri» and «Kansas Star» quilt patterns with focus on fruits, berries, corn, herbs, and more. This lends a nod to the Powell Gardens humble beginnings as a farm.
Byron Shutz Nature Trail: The replicas of dinosaurs for the special Jurassic exhibit can be found along this wooded 3.25 mile hike that winds along a creek. August 14 will be the last day for this so make sure to bring your family along for the prehistoric events found on their online calendar.
Fountain Garden: Different patterns of water shoot up from the ground, making it a fun way to cool off during the hot summer months. I was more than half tempted to join the kids in running through the water.
Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel: This non-​denominational chapel is adorned with wood and glass, allowing natural light to filter in from its massive floor-​to-​ceiling windows. It is absolutely stunning.
Iris Hill: The best time to see hundreds of blooms is about mid-​May which coincidentally was when my fiancé and I went. We enjoyed the hill of spectacular, colorful blooms while wandering through the rows and rows of irises. It’s easy to miss this part of the garden as it’s located away from the main areas, but if you’re an iris-​lover like I am, make sure to visit this area.
Café Thyme: This sit-​down eatery offers table service and a strange ambiance of a nice restaurant combined with a cafeteria-​style atmosphere. Unfortunately, the food was hit-​or-​miss. The menu on the website is a bit misleading as the description of the veggie burger made it appear that the patty was house-​made when in actuality it was most likely from Morningstar Farms. However, the baked sweet potato fries I chose as my side was divine. My fiancé opted for the baked tortilla chips topped with chili-​cumin chickpeas and guacamole. Their healthy version of nachos was quite delicious but the Israeli couscous vegetable salad was bland.
Exploring every nook and cranny of Powell Gardens can be a full day event so plan accordingly. There’s a free trolley service that runs throughout the park, picking up and dropping off passengers at designated stops in case you do not want to walk. Be sure to check the weather, calendar of events, and what’s in bloom links to determine the optimal time to go. Most of all, enjoy this spectacular sanctuary that is less than an hour drive from Kansas City!