You know that I never take a trip to the library without peeking in the photography section. Lately, as a respite from the wedding photography books, I’ve been reading The Art of Garden Photography by Ian Adams. This book cemented my desire to visit the Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore.

Of course, I wanted to visit for photographic opportunities like this:

Unfortunately, the rest of the family’s thoughts on flowers and photos are summed up in Marcus’s expression below. Such a charming young man we’re raising, aren’t we? I’m so proud.

We chose not to bring bikes, but upon arrival, saw that there were several nicely paved paths that would have worked beautifully for bike riding. Instead, the boys had to walk on their own two feet, further increasing their grumpiness as we set out.

Fortunately for John and me, attitudes changed a bit when Jack and Marcus discovered some climbing trees. The tree on the left there is the biggest Japanese maple I’ve ever seen and I am sure it will be breathtaking in the fall!

Limbs for shooting and sticks for whacking helped too.

I began taking lots of pictures of this little water basin which was totally reminiscent of the Anne of Green Gables series. I was fascinated by the way that the slightest shifts in my angle changed whether I captured the leaves under the water, the overhead trees reflected in the water, or a combination of both. But if we were going to stop, rocks were going to be thrown, so my photo opportunity passed quickly.

Oh, how we love to annoy one another!!!

In a few very short months, Joshua will be old enough to run around and join the stick and rock games. But Sunday afternoon he was still happy to just hang out with his best buddy, Dad.

Someday I’ll be back with my tripod and no children to take some sharp and beautiful pictures of the gardens and mansion. In the meantime, these were my best attempts. If you live around Baltimore and are looking for a leisurely, peaceful, and pretty outing, I highly recommend the Cylburn Arboretum. I’m looking forward to many, many return trips to explore other gardens, especially in the changing seasons.