Nichole’s Family Picks of the Weekend 1/10 and 1/11

Ummmm…..Brrrrrr.   It is kind of hard to think of doing anything other than a mad movie marathon or intense family game day under blankets, sprawled on the living room floor, but here are some ideas.

Want to feel like you are in the tropics, even though we aren’t?

Pick #1 is to visit an indoor garden and it might just help you forget these frigid winter temperatures!

Here are two great choices.

The Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston

While it may be too cold to enjoy some of the outside gardens, there are some gorgeous indoor spaces and you are always welcome to hike around outside as long as you can handle the temps.  Be sure to visit the Limonaia, or Lemon House, and the Orangerie.  The Winter Garden is also not to be missed!

 

Or there are the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.

The Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses house the most diverse collection of plants under glass in the greater Boston area.

There are sixteen interconnected greenhouses comprising 7,200 square feet under glass. Many plants in the greenhouses have cultural value as food and spice around the world. Some plants in the greenhouses have historical significance to Wellesley College, the most prominent being the 130-plus year old Durant camellia which came from the founder of the college.

The Desert House showcases cacti and succulents in a series of miniature landscapes, demonstrating a range of adaptations to different desert environments and providing examples of convergent evolution. Larger landscape plantings give a realistic impression of desert plants in nature. Annuals such as desert bluebells are added to enhance the landscape as appropriate. This house is kept cool during the winter months to encourage spring bloom.

The Tropic House is the tallest of the greenhouses, allowing small trees such as palms, cycads and banana to grow in a central in-ground planting area. The house provides a general impression of a tropical forest understory, demonstrating adaptations such as aerial roots and large leaves with drip tips. Vines and lianas are encouraged to grow up appropriate hosts, and epiphytes are grown on trees or simulated trees.

Aerated pools in the Hydrophyte House provide suitable growing conditions for aquatic plants as well as plants adapted to wet root zone conditions, such as mangroves and papyrus. A range of water-loving plants, from floating aquatics to rooted emergents to floodplain species, is demonstrated in and around these unique pools.

Other houses and collections include the Seasonal Display House, Mabel A. Stone Cryptogam (Fern) House, Warm Temperate House, economic plant collection, caudiciform collection, sensory plant collection, and carnivorous plant collection.

 

Pick #2

Need to shake off the chill?  Try the pot….The Melting Pot, that is.

I have such fond memories of fondue family nights spent hanging over our mustard yellow super 70s fondue pot!  While this experience may be slightly more modern than my memories (and more than a wee bit more expensive) it is worth it for a fun treat!  There are locations in Bedford/Burlington and in Boston’s Back Bay.

 

Pick #3 

To help take care of some of that holiday excess that you may have enjoyed….

Hit the gym.  The Metrorock Climbing Gym

“Climbing for the Day” passes are $20 for adults, $10 for children under 7, and FREE for children under 4.

There are locations in Newburyport and Everett.