Pineapple Growing at Callaway Gardens
Our family found a little piece of heaven on earth in Pine Mountain, Georgia, and I hope you will make time to see it for yourselves.
I am speaking specifically of Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, but the whole town with its shops and restaurants is just delightful.
There is so much to do on Callaway’s 13,000 acres, that you could easily spend two or more days exploring all that the gardens have to offer. There are acres and acres of beautiful woodland gardens and trails. There are walking trails and trails specifically for biking (our family’s favorite).
One of our favorite outdoor areas was at the Virginia Callaway Discovery Center. We had lunch overlooking the man-made lake, fed turtles and fish off of the pier, and took in the Birds of Prey show.
If we had visited in the spring, I believe that the Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl or the Overlook Garden might have been named our favorite. The Bowl has 3,400 Azaleas! Even though they weren’t in bloom while we were there, it was beautiful. There is a walking trail around the Azaleas, and it is easy to imagine how spectacular all of the shrubs look when in full bloom.
When we needed a break from the heat, we visited several of Callaway Gardens’ indoor attractions. We enjoyed the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center. The center boasts more than 50 different species of butterflies fluttering all around visitors. I even had a butterfly land on me! The Sibley Horticultural Center was my personal favorite indoor attraction. It is an indoor/outdoor garden/greenhouse, and it is spectacular. There are so many varieties of exotic of plants on display, but my favorite thing about the Center is the 22- foot indoor waterfall. It makes a great spot to take a picture.
Of all the things we did at Callaway Gardens, I’d have to say that my absolute favorite was sitting on a bench and just drinking in all of the natural beauty. Everywhere we went, there were benches perfectly situated for observing nature. It was nice just to kick back and rest for a few minutes while listening to birds sing and water ripple.
I can’t say enough about these beautiful gardens. A sign at the entrance sums up our experience perfectly. It reads: “Remove nothing from the Gardens except: nourishment for the soul, consolation for the heart, inspiration for the mind.”