Adkins Arboretum
Caroline County
Wandering through the gardens of adkins was a beautiful experience, and Seeing the intersection between art and the natural world was inspiring, and we really enjoyed reading about each art piece’s significance and how it was made
Adkins Arboretum is a 40 acre native garden designed for interactive education. It is a quiet, beautiful place to wander through native gardens, woodland paths, and open meadows that change with the seasons. It’s especially nice for birdwatching, easy walks, family outings, and nature programs that make the landscape feel more alive and interesting. With a variety of natural arts exhibits, plant observation stations, and guided tours, this conservation based arboretum features over 600 species of native Maryland trees, wildflowers, and grasses. The arboretum has free parking and is generally set up to welcome a wide range of visitors.
When we arrived at Adkins, the peaceful and vibrant environment immediately stood out. The parking lot was littered with shrubs, purple flowers, and yellow flowering bushes, with pollinators flitting across sporadically. We spent a long while just looking at the plants and butterflies, and were lucky enough to spot some beautiful monarch butterflies on the purple flowers.
Another cool thing about the parking lot was the information sign about sustainable urban planning. The parking lot was made with permeable pavement, meaning that runoff would be decreased and rainfall would be returned into the groundwater supply instead of carrying excess nutrients to local watersheds. This is a great sustainable practice and it was heartening to see an establishment putting it to use.
We got to wander through the visitor’s center, where we got a map and examined some cool plant species they had growing outside of the building in a protected area. Each plant was labeled, so we were able to learn about a multitude of native plants.
Our map also included a native tree identification sheet, which we put to good use as we traversed through the many winding yet mellow trails around the property. We recognized a few species, saw a colony of aphids taking over a split branch to the point that the tree looked furry, and also had the pleasure of stumbling upon a little frog in a stream by one of the paths.
One more awesome thing about Adkins was the several outdoor art exhibits they had on display. Seeing the intersection between art and the natural world was inspiring, and we really enjoyed reading about each art piece’s significance and how it was made. Our favorite exhibit was these hanging painted tree peelings. They were absolutely beautiful!
Trails in adkins took us through meadows, over rivers and across a wetland boardwalk. We saw a huge variety of wildlife all over the arboretum, and the native gardens helped us feel more connected to Maryland's natural ecosystem. There were a lot of pollinators- click the butterfly image below to jump to our wildlife article about them!
