Lighthouses in a garden...with trains.

It never fails to amaze me how many wonderful attractions in my own backyard that I am unaware of. Well, I happened upon something that I know I will be visiting this summer. Not quite in my backyard, but certainly an excellent day trip, and this special exhibit will combine a number of things that I enjoy....a wonderful looking garden, model railroads, and lighthouses!
Who would think it was possible?? But it will be this summer from Saturday, May 23 - October 13 at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa.

Now, as a member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, I have heard of it and seen events there mentioned in the PHS newsletter, but have never been there and did not really know a lot about it. It has "thousands of rare and lovely woody plants, including some of Philadelphia's oldest, rarest, and largest trees, are set in a romantic, 92-acre, Victorian landscape garden of winding paths, streams, flowers and special garden areas."

Sounds lovely...but the one particular feature that we..and by we I mean ME...are looking at today is the Garden Railway, "With a changing theme each year, the Garden Railway is a miniature world set in the splendor of a summer garden, featuring historic buildings created entirely of natural materials, each meticulously detailed with leaves, bark, vines and twigs. Logs and branches are also used to create unique tunnels and overhead trestles. Nestled among woody plants, colorful annuals and perennials, the finished product is an enchanting landscape that never ceases to delight visitors both young and old."

But as regular readers here might understand, I am very interesting in the fact that this years theme is LIGHTHOUSES! "Great American Lighthouses returns as the 2009 theme for Morris Arboretum’s Summer Garden Railway display - featuring such favorites as Cape Hatteras, Sandy Hook and Boston Harbor Light." I have read on another blog, New England Lighthouses, that the lighthouses that will be represented are Boston Harbor Light, Brant Point Light, Cape Hatteras Light, East Brother Island Light, Fort Thompkins Light, Mukilteo Light, Old Point Loma Lighthouse, Pass A L'Outre Light, Race Rock Lighthouse, Sandy Hook Light (New Jersey! Woo Hoo!), St. Joseph North Pierhead Lights, Whitefish Point Light, Thomas Point Shoal Light, Whaleback Lighthouse, Whitehead Light Station, Yaquina Bay Light, along with a 1000 feet of track and ten G-scale trains.

So, if your are in the Philly area or will be this summer, and are a fan of gardens, model railroads or lighthouses, this sounds like something you should plan on visiting. And be sure to check out their event sections, because they have a lot of family friendly events all season, something to interest just about everyone.