The other day was HOT and we were looking for someplace shady. Our house is new and therefore has no established landscaping and there is nothing like the shade of a big tall tree to keep you cool on a summer day.
We decided to pack up and make the drive into Spokane to explore Manito Park’s 95 acres of trees, gardens and ponds.
They have a lilac garden that smells wonderful even when the bushes are not in bloom, rose gardens…
and Japanese gardens…
I was disappointed that the Koi pond was not stocked. The sign said that people brought in diseases by introducing their fish into the pond and it killed their entire stock so there were just a handful of new fish but we did see newly hatched ducklings and there was plenty of water and shade. Scarfunkle and Loud found leaves floating in a bird bath.
They also have a childrens play area (which we avoided at all cost) 
and a sandwich and coffee shop with picnic tables.
If you are in North Idaho or Western Washington, Manito Park is a beautiful place to visit. They host a bi yearly plant sale as well. You’ll know where to find me this Sept!
I have never been! Looks fun:)
I love the pictures!! I remember going to places like that as a kid in Chicago. I don’ t remember the names but I have many fond memeories. They seemed like fairy tale places, because we lived in the city and really didn’t experience nature like that very often. Now that I live in Georgia, lush greenery is all around us, flowers are in bloom almost year around. The mountains are just a couple hours away and the beach is a half a day away. Perfect!
Sounds lovely! We are blessed with beautiful country up here too but it’s nice to explore our area. I was in Georgia for two days and I remember it raining WARM raindrops. That was the strangest thing to me.