DAGSBORO, Del.- Bringing the community together this fall.
The Delaware Botanic Gardens hosted community days this weekend in an effort to bring in more people to walk around and see what the gardens have to offer. With the fall underway, trees are seeing more color while grasses are in their peak season of growth.
The staff says there was a great turnout Saturday with about 240 visitors while the wet forecast today only saw about 35 to 40 people.
Despite that, the community days are rewarding for the garden’s staff including Deputy Executive Director & Director of Horticulture Brian Trader who welcomes everyone with open arms.
"We know that in this time of the pandemic that people are itching to get out of their homes and be out and about," Trader said. "We wanted to do something to thank the community for supporting us as a new garden."
The gardens will be closing in about a month for the season, but there is still a lot to enjoy here including the grasses and very colorful plants.
Leaders depend on volunteers to help maintain the gardens and lead tours for visitors. In fact, only three staff members are paid. With the gardens opening a little over a year ago, they had minimal changes in regards to the pandemic.
"Early on, it was a bit of a challenge maintaining the gardens because of so few staff," Trader added. "We weren’t able to welcome our volunteers to the gardens. There were several weeks where we weren’t able to engage the volunteers."
Back with a full crew, there is plenty of scenery to see as you walk through.
"The grasses in the meadow are entering their full bloom," Trader said. "We have the pink lily grass which is just behind me here that is gorgeous right now. And, a lot of other perennials in the meadow are starting to change colors."
Guided tours are available until the gardens close before Thanksgiving. Visit delawaregardens.org to learn more and book reservations.
