HERSHEY, PA. Gardens inspire, enchant visitors

Young and old will enjoy the whimsical Children's Garden.
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
HERSHEY, Pa. -- For more than six decades, Hershey Gardens has provided visitors with a place to enjoy plants and nature. Although steeped in history, the gardens continue to grow with innovative additions.
Entering, visitors are greeted by the Historic Rose Garden. This was the original area that candy-maker Milton Hershey created with the help of his horticulturist, Harry Erdman. Hershey's instructions to Erdman were to create a "nice garden of roses." On the day the garden opened in June 1937, more than 20,000 people came to see them. That 31/2-acre beginning expanded into 23 acres in 1942.
In the Rose Garden, a large picture of the garden from 1937 mirrors the garden today. Seven years ago, an extensive renovation returned this part of the garden much to the way it looked when it opened.
The garden's more than 7,000 roses remain the cornerstone, and wandering through them is visual and olfactory delight. The perfume of the roses lingers in the air as guests visit flower after flower, like honeybees intoxicated by the sweet pollen. Every color and form is represented and displayed in formal beds that suit them well.
Mrs. Hershey's Rose Garden features heirloom varieties. It's filled with the varieties representative of what she grew in 1907.
Although some roses start early, the peak blooming time begins in June.
Spring blooms
For spring, the garden is filled with 30,000 tulips representing 120 varieties that start blooming through mid-May, depending on the weather.
This time of year, there are also banks of daffodils and other spring bulbs, a grove of magnolias, redbud, flowering cherry and crab apple trees.
On June 14, the nonprofit gardens open their latest feature, the Children's Garden, a 11/2-acre site filled with 23 themed gardens. It will be one of about a dozen children's gardens in the country.
Susan Klein, public-relations coordinator for Hershey Gardens, says one of the goals of the garden is to teach. "We want people to be educated, but in a fun way." The gardens include indoor and outdoor learning areas.
A bit of whimsy
The design of the garden is whimsical, and children won't be the only ones captivated by it.
The Sundial Garden invites children into the space, and they become the sundial by raising their right hand.
In Kisses Fountain Plaza, granite sculptures shaped like Hershey's Kisses mist water when activated by a child.
There are gardens filled with musical instruments inspired by plants -- such as gourds that rattle and large dance chimes.
Another garden is filled with plants representing the alphabet. There's also a fragrance garden as well as many other wonderful surprises.
The Children's Garden was built around the Butterfly House that opened in 1998. It showcases 300 butterflies, and 25 species flutter from plant to plant.
The garden provides a wonderful opportunity for nature photography. It's a chance to appreciate nature with your children, and they won't even know they are learning something that might last a lifetime.