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Feel like royalty

Formerly known as Eolia, Harkness Memorial State Park is a 220-acre park listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park includes a mansion with more than 40 rooms and gardens surrounding the mansion. There are 3 gardens in the vicinity of this Connecticut park - Italian, Oriental and Cutting Garden- and some greenhouses. The mansion is open for tours on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, from 10 am to 2 pm. 

The grandeur of the mansion, the gardens, and the arboretums of this Connecticut park makes it an ideal venue for weddings and luncheons and private parties. Aside from the tours, you can also enjoy fishing and picnicking in this lush park.

Get in touch with nature

The Arboretum in Connecticut College is 64 acres of land that serves as an outdoor laboratory for Botany, Zoology and Biology students, but it is also a famous spot for those seeking the outdoors. This Connecticut garden and arboretum is home to a variety of plants and trees. Take a free guided tour, available from May to October at 2 pm or go on a self-guide tour with the help of brochures found at the main entrance at Williams Street. You may also request a private guided tour for your class or you family with a certain fee. 

There are different sites that you may check out, the Native Plant Collection, the exquisite Caroline Black Garden or the Campus Landscape. Aside from the tours, you may also attend a symposium, see Shakespeare in the Arboretum or check out the list of programs that are lined up for kids and adults.

Gardens like no other

Wickham Park in Connecticut is home to 250 acres of gardens and arboretums, woodlands, open fields, recreational facilities and even a bird sanctuary. A whole day won't be enough to tour and experience this park. They have 6 themed gardens namely the English Garden, Scottish Garden, Cabin Garden, The Oriental Garden, Italian Shrine, The Lotus Garden, Wetlands Garden and Rhododendron Garden, each a site to behold. These gardens can be rented for events and ceremonies. Go and choose a theme that will match your event. 

The park is open 7 days a week from the 1st weekend of April through the last weekend of October. Entrance fees are based on a per vehicle entry. Cars are at $4 on weekdays and $5 on weekends, limousines and passenger vans are at $12 on weekdays and $15 on weekends and buses are at $48 on weekdays and $60 on weekends. They also have weekday season passes and senior passes available at the front gate.

New England's tea capital

If your taste buds are tired of sampling the wines of New England, you might wanna check out Sundial Gardens. Founded in 1976, this famous Connecticut garden and arboretum has been featured in many magazines and TV shows. They are famous for their teas as much as their gardens. You don't just get to sample their wonderful teas but you can actually join a tea party like what they do in England. Aside from the regular tea talks, they also have special programs such as baking classes and chocolate making classes.

The Tea Shop is open from Thursday to Sunday. From the shop, you can purchase the finest imported loose leaf teas as well as teapots and chocolates that will go perfectly with your Sunday tea party. Visit this classy garden next time you visit Connecticut.

Stop and smell the roses...literally!

Home to around 800 varieties of roses, Elizabeth Park is the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the whole United States. This one of a kind garden and arboretum in Connecticut is more than a hundred years old and is home to around 15,000 plants. If you are a fan of roses, then this place is a place to behold with every color of roses lining the park. 

If the rose garden is not your thing, you can always check out the herb garden, perennial garden and rock garden also in this 102-acre-park. The park is open from dusk till dawn, all year round so if you're on a very tight budget, this is a place you should consider visiting.