Bellevue Botanical Gardens in Autumn

After the topic of the Bellevue Botanical Gardens came up in a local photography club this morning, I decided to check it out.  I haven't been there since the 90's (outside of Garden D'Lights holiday displays) and remembered it being a nice park and a fun place to attend galas, but nothing with particularly interesting to a non-gardener.

Today I learned that they have done significant renovations over the past 10 years, and even have a suspension bridge on one of the back trails.  Bridges and streams are pretty much the best thing ever with a little one, so we had to go exploring!

After stopping by the Visitor's Center and picking up a map, we wandered started out in the Short Ground Cover Garden where we checked out a water feature and what appeared to be a Japanese Tea House building.

From there we walked through the Fuchsia Garden and over to the Perennial Border, where we saw some flowers in bloom.  These were the only flowers in bloom that we saw today - the rest of the garden focuses on native plants rather than blooming flowers.  I wish I had brought a camera with a "macro" setting (it usually looks like a little flower.)  I only had my phone with me and missed some fun opportunities for shooting flowers up close.

Next, we went down the service road to the "Ravine Experience" trail across from the Native Discovery Garden, and out to the suspension bridge and back.  It was so fun!

After coming back to the main part of the garden, we walked through the Yao Garden, a twist on a traditional Japanese Garden with some native plants mixed in.  He was really fascinated with the stone lanterns.

Finally, we wandered through the Rhododendron Glen and back up through the Short Ground Cover Garden, where we saw another water feature and a fun little door, reminiscent of a hobbit home.  After tentatively knocking, Jake whispered that he hopes that a big, gigantic spider didn't live there and answer the door.

Before you go
1. Check out current hours of operations at http://www.bellevuebotanical.org/location.html. 
2. There is no admissions fee - everything is free (except during the Garden D'Lights displays November through January.)
3. There are restrooms on-site, although they may only be unlocked during open Visitor Center Hours.
4.  When you arrive, stop in the Visitor's Center to pick up a map.  Especially if you visit the suspension bridge (which you should), a physical map will be handy for finding your way around.
5.  Note that the Natural Area in the SW corner, between the Perennial Garden and the western part of the loop that leads to the Suspension Bridge is essentially a service road.  It is wide, flat, and great for strollers, but there is not much to see.


Getting there
1. Located just east of Downtown Bellevue, this is easy to find with any GPS:
12001 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98005

Zoomed in map of main garden:

Zoomed out map of garden, showing suspension bridge location.  This map looks large, but the park really isn't that big.  You can walk through each of the colored gardens within a few minutes, so it really takes less than 15 minutes of direct walking from the visitor's center to the bridge: