What a lovely garden that is free to the public! I was too busy admiring it with my family to take…read morepictures. The ambassadors at the front were so helpful knowing it was our first time visiting, and we also met some staff to thank them for maintaining it so well. I'd love to come back for a formal tour in the future and see the mansion. We'll be back!

This is a marvelous place to drink in nature and all its wonders. You can't help but feel renewed…read moresurrounded by such beauty.

I love this community and they have a lot of different varieties of flowers and the atmosphere is…read morewonderful to take pictures here.

I don't know what I can say that hasn't already been said. This place is beautiful. Sure…read moresomewhere like Longwood Gardens is massive and very impressive, but Meadowbrook feels so much more natural. Everything feels like it belongs and it doesn't just feel like flowers for the sake of people to look at them. It feels like the flowers and all the plants are supposed to live there. They're worked into the landscape beautifully. The fountains are cute, the buildings are charming, and the gardens are breathtaking. I'm glad they released the Garden Passports. It's really worked well on me I need to go everywhere, even to places I've already been now that I know there's a passport for it! I wish every place had a stamp it's a shame only some of the gardens do, but Meadowbrook does have a stamp so there's another positive!

The gardens and paths behind the Art Museum are beautiful. The flowers and plants change with the…read moreseasons of course. It's a nice place to walk or sit. It's also a great place to let the littles run around. A small cafe has drinks, sandwiches and other food. There is a bike rental stand. Restrooms and a water fountain are at Lloyd Hall at the end of the parking lot. Boathouse Row is also a nice walk.

Went for yoga in the park hosted by Philly Parks and it was fantastic. The area is quiet clean and…read morepeaceful.

*In SNL's Stefan voice*…read more "The James G. Kaskey Memorial Park has everything. Hidden walkways, cardinals chirping in the foliage, bleeding hearts, tropical ferns, a pond with fat toads, insanely large trees with knots bigger than beach balls, benches nestled in the bushes with beer cans and bowls someone just smoked out of, and all manner of flora that could put the Philadelphia Flower Show to shame." Seriously though, I'm obsessed with this gem I happened upon walking through UPenn's campus the other week. I have so many photos of this urban oasis but I'm gatekeeping them to preserve the memory. Just check it out. You'll often find yourself saying "I can't believe I'm in the city," it's that much of a quiet escape. Pro tip: come after a rainstorm when the sun peeps out - it's that much more lush and magical.

The five stars are for me. On one of the worst days of my life, I needed to go somewhere, very…read morevery much. And this was, in my mind, the first and only place to go. Botanical tranquilizer. On other, happier days, I took a camera, and snapped several pics of the flora, posted them to facebook, and asked everyone to guess where they were taken. No one got it right, because almost no one outside of the Penn community knows about this place.

Stunning venue - the display garden is truly a one in a million place to get married. We initially…read moreplanned to have our cocktail hour outdoors as we wanted to highlight the reflecting pool but unfortunately the weather didn't permit - we had cocktail hour inside and it was still incredible. The whole team there was impressive and the food was truly delicious. My standards for wedding food are pretty low but it was excellent, and many of our guests commented that it was the best wedding food they've ever had (and they'd eat it again if they could). The whole team was lovely to work with. So, so glad we got married here!!

The Horticulture Center is a beautiful place. Theres no admission fee. The grounds are huge! There…read moreare lots of different trees, large grassy areas, and walking trails. There are also sculptures throughout the grounds. There is a Japanese tea house and pond. There's a fee to enter the tea house. There's also a tree house you can walk to. The horticulture center building has a many different plants inside as well as fountains. In front of the building is a large water fountain. The building has bathrooms and a water fountain. There's a children's garden and vegetable garden beside the building. In mid April the cherry blossoms are beautiful! The center hosts a Sakura Sunday event which has a fee to enter. It's a great place to take a walk or spend an afternoon.

Ever get the impression that folks knew what they were doing back then, more than they do now…read more Stopping by this 18th Century Garden, you sure get the impression that they knew a lot better than us. The garden was beautiful and meticulously kept.

The garden is part of Independence National Historic Park, and it is free to walk through during…read moremost daylight hours. There are gates that lock during off-hours, however. But its a very interesting experience because it shows off plenty of plants that were grown in Philly during the 1700s. Everything was well-kept and clean, done by volunteers from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. You'll even find a spot that was dedicated by then-First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in 1965. It's definitely worth taking a stroll through. Be good to all the plants!

This farm is beautiful anytime of the year. We went in July during the summertime and the flowers…read morewere in bloom and the bees were out, it was very pretty. Parking is a little far from the farm itself, but there is a paved walking trail to get to the farm. Once we were there, we headed to the farm. Once inside the homestead we were met with a tour guide. They were very well educated about the property and stories there. The buildings were fascinating. There is so much history, and artifacts inside. All the way down to the painting. I appreciate how they preserved alot of the original. We walked around the exterior gardens. The flowers were stunning. It was so cute to see the bees feeding on the pollen. There was a pretty good size gardens that had flowers and vegetables. The property itself was very clean and well managed. The bathrooms were also available and well maintained. I recommend dressing for the weather, and the interior can become hot. I highly recommend this as something to do when killing time or looking for something to do in the local area. It was very fun and fascinating. Takes about an hour or less depending on how many people. When we were there, there were not too many people. Maybe 1-2 other families.

Peter Wentz Farmstead has been on my list a few years now. Finally got a chance to visit this…read moreweekend. PWF is located inside a park similar to the Pennsylvania Colonial Plantation near me (Inside Ridley Creek State Park), however PWF is FREE admission while the PA Colonial Plantation charges. Two volunteers in the barn had amazing information on the oxen-in-training. The man was giving a very cool bovine lecture, and the woman was engaging as anything, especially with my child. The young man dressed as the Belsnickel brought said name Wikipedia page to life and had a very historically accurate costume. He had treats for the kids, but my kindergartener was a tad scared (not too scared to take the candy though). These cool folklore touches go deeper than anything I've seen at the PA Colonial Plantation, and I feel lucky to have been there to meet him! The volunteers in the Visitor's Center were very welcoming and informative! They even had free ginger cookies to cheer everyone up on a cold day! This Visitor's Center is much more sophisticated than the PA Colonial Plantation. They have didactics and video on the site history. It was too crowded to watch this visit, but I will catch it next time. Both Colonial historic sites have volunteers in period costumes standing by to give history lessons on farm life in that period household. Both sites have animals to visit (sheep, chickens, turkeys and oxen), although PA Colonial Plantation also has pigs and a horse or two. Both sites offer house tours, festival days, special activities, and summer camps. The quality of information and enthusiasm of the volunteers is equal at both sites; all of these historian-volunteers are amazing, with loads of fun information to teach. I know the variety and number of demonstrations is always more than a handful at PA Colonial Plantation fest days, which I expect with paid admission. What is offered free at PWF is impressive, but not as varied and prolific as PA Colonial Plantation (such as their blacksmith shop, rifle demos, beer making, pottery making, etc). Again, at the colonial plantation near me, I expect to spend a couple hours on all the demonstrations and activities. At PWF this weekend, we probably had about an hour's worth of browsing IF we had been able to brave cold winds for the long line awaiting a house tour. I know the Fall Festival and other festivals days here offer a lot more to do, but it seems to get overcrowded due to its free admission, and without a fence or natural boundary to enclose the farmstead, they can't control that flow of people very well. That would be my hesitation for future visits. Even in Jan freezing temps with fierce winds, loads of people were there, even very small toddlers. Idk if the weather made people cranky or not, but the crowd here was MISERABLE. We DelCo folks are not pushy, sullen, and crabby when we visit our plantation (which is actually also closed all winter because of the cold), but boy were these MontCo peeps rude! The volunteers are so sweet and kind but not a single visitor returned my smiles, and I got many scowls instead. One senior visitor blocked me in the hallway of the information office, preventing me from getting to my child. When I said "excuse me" to get past, she very reluctantly got out of my way, with a giant dirty look. Ten stars for the volunteers and free offerings; negative star for the local d!ckheads who visit.

For me, it was way too hot today for hiking/bird-watching, so this comment is focused on the indoor…read moredisplays and the house tour. I'm not a "bird person," whatever that means. What I mean is, I'm not a bird watcher and don't know much about bird habits or the sounds they make or their migration. But I can say that I learned a lot from the displays here today and enjoyed walking through the entire thing. It gave me a better appreciation for birds in nature, how they fly, the threats to their survival, etc. And the place isn't preachy. Just a very informative, pleasant learning experience. There's good information here that's well and efficiently presented; it's just enough - it's not stuffy or oppressive. The staff is helpful. We were fortunate that a house tour was beginning during our visit, and we joined that tour (included in the admission price). The tour is given by a volunteer docent. It was very informative, and we learned a great deal about Audubon (the good, bad and the ugly) and his life, marriage, his work and his valuable contributions to the field of bird studies. I'm giving this 5 stars for what we saw, and I'm assuming (confidently) that a walk/hike through the grounds on a nice day would be great.

Upon leaving I said to the receptionist, "I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would." To…read morewhich he replied, "thank you. I guess." When I go to an art museum I rarely read placards. Just interested in the art. At the Audobon center, I read everything. So interesting to learn about migration, how birds fly, their physiology ... and John James Audobon himself. What a colorful character. The mission of the center is to educate people to cherish and protect the natural world by preserving Audobon's artistic and scientific legacy. I had no particular interest in birds, but I was fascinated. The center is located on a bird sanctuary -- and the grounds are beautiful. There are trails which visitors are free to explore. BTW, if you're looking for a venue for a special event, check this place out. Staff was setting up for a wedding while we were there, and I was impressed.