cox arboretum {october 23, 2022}

Cox Arboretum and Gardens is one of the many parks located in the Five Rivers MetroParks system. It is particularly beautiful this time of year with the fall colors gracing the many varieties of trees. We climbed the 81-step Tree Tower to get a panoramic view of the surrounding area.

Photo: Five Rivers MetroParks

The grounds of the Arboretum are easy to walk. The natural area and Conservation Corner offer about 2.5 miles of trails through woodlands and meadows. Paved paths provide another mile to navigate through cultivated gardens which now are on their last legs until spring.

Two busy roads, Route 741 on the east and I-75 on the west, border Cox. Although the traffic noise is audible, Cox is a peaceful place to appreciate the wonder of the gardens and natural areas, discover habitats of native wildlife, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and if you're a gardener, get inspiration for plants to put in your own garden. I'm planning a pollinator garden for 2023.

🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁 🍁

Back in the day when my kids had to do a leaf project for school, the idea was to walk around the neighborhood, pick up leaves, and then identify them by leafing through a book (see what I did there 🤣). One of the neighborhood moms who had a couple leaf projects under her belt told me go to Cox with some baggies, index cards, and a pen. The trees are labeled so put a leaf in a Baggie, write the tree name on the index card, put the card in the Baggie, and boom...leaf identification done in an afternoon. Nowadays leaf identification is easy with all the plant and tree apps that are available at the touch of our fingertips.