Gardens
The Blue Star Memorial Garden
This Garden is lovingly sponsored by the Hanford Garden Club. It is refreshed with new flowering plants for each season by the Garden Club. The brick planter was generously built and donated by Koinonia Church.
Garden Activities
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Ask A Garden Docent to explain to you the importance of the Blue Star Memorials all across America. Read the inscription on the plaque. Be proud to be an American and be proud and respectful of our military as they continue to provide our freedom.
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Think of all those who came before us and had an impact on the lives we live today.
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Relax, enjoy the beauty around you, or meditate.
The Seasonal Gardens
Our seasonal gardens are a place to look for inspiration as the seasons change. These gardens will change dramatically with each new season. For the most part, this will not be an interactive garden, but rather, an eye-popping display of seasonal fun and beauty.
Books for the Seasonal Gardens
Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant
Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington
From Seed to Pumpkin by Houghton Mifflin
The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie by Jill Esbaum
Pumpkin Circle, The Story of a Garden by George Levensons
Naming Rights to The Seasonal Garden have been sponsored by Anthony & Irene Mendes in memory of Laura (Mendes) Fregulia and Gladys (Rogers) Mendes. Thank you for your generosity!
The Topiary House & Garden
Books for the Topiary Garden
Everything Horse: What Kids Really Want to Know about Horses by Marty Crisp
Horses by Laura Driscoll
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Garden Activities​
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Look inside and notice the vintage cooking stove. People in the 1800s used this very stove to cook their meals and keep their homes warm. Think about all the wood that had to be chopped!
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Take a picture.
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Wander along the paths and look for the topiary animals.
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How many can you count?
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How many can you name?
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Find the Book Box and sit in the little hand-painted chairs and read topiary themed books.
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Naming Rights to The Topiary House and Garden have been sponsored by
Dean and Barbara Osterling.
Thank you for your generosity!
Dinosaur Dig
The Beginner's Garden Dinosaur Dig is a place where children are able to dig in the dirt - LOTS of sand! (And a little water, too!) Young children love this garden! There are benches for adults to relax and watch their little ones and enjoy themselves. Yes, a hand washing area is near by!
Garden Activities
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Look inside the Beginner's Garden Dinosaur Dig book box and enjoy looking at and reading the books.
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Sit down and listen to a special story selected just for this garden.
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Choose a bucket and a trowel to build a castle or house.
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Use sticks, feathers, leaves and acorns for your house.
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Dig as deep as you can. Try to dig to the other side of the world!
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Dig for dinosaurs and historical artifacts.
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Enjoy the feel of the soil on your hands and feet.
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Make mud pies!
Books for the Beginner's Garden
Wiggle and Waggle by Caroline Arnold
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner
Dinosaur Garden by Liza Donnelly
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
Naming Rights to Dinosaur Garden have been sponsored in loving memory of
Peter Belezzuoli by Overland Stockyard, the Belezzuoli, Hathaway & Pettigrew families.
Thank you for your generosity!
Charlotte's Web Dairy Barn
Garden Activities
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Find the books in the little red barn book box and sit and read in the barn.
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Play with the horse figurines or take a ride on a stick horse.
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Milk "Lettie", our very tame milk cow.
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Clean the barn with the broom.
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Look for Charlotte in the rafters of the barn.
Naming Rights to Charlotte's Web Dairy Barn have been sponsored by
Leprino Foods Employees.
Thank you for your generosity!
Books for the Charlotte's Web Dairy Barn
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Charlottes Web by E. B. White
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
The Little Red Hen retold by Lyn Calder
Teaching Kitchen Garden
This garden is an important part of our field trip lessons. This is where students get to learn about how important good soil is when planting vegetables. Students on field trips get to plant everything growing in these wonderful garden beds built and donated by the First Christian Reformed Church.
Books for the Teaching Kitchen Garden
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
Sunflower Houses by Sharon Lovejoy
The House in the Mail by Rosemary and Tom Wells
Pioneer Farm by Megan O'Hara
Around the Year by Tasha Tudor
Garden Activities​
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Pick one of the vegetables or fruits and wash it at the washing station.
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Everyone who visits the Garden is welcome to pick and eat one fruit or veggie. Please remember that we ask you to follow this rule so there will be enough for everyone to taste.
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Enjoy seeing if you can identify each growing plant.
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Read gardening books you find in this garden book box.
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If Mr. McGregor is in the Garden, be sure to ask him your gardening questions. He is full of great information and always fun to talk with!
The Log Cabin
& Nolan's Critter Creek
Garden Activities
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Find the books in the log cabin book box and read them inside the log cabin.
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Pump water with the old hand pump.
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Play in the kitchen and have a tea party.
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Dramatize the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
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Play house in the little log cabin.
Books for The Log Cabin
Goldilocks and the Three Bears illustrated by Lilian Obligado
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
The Little House of the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Naming Rights to The Log Cabin have been sponsored by Linda Nielsen.
Thank you for your generosity!
Naming Rights to The Woodland Garden have been sponsored by "Nolan's Critter Creek" Nolan Eggert's Family.
Thank you for your generosity!
Monet's House and Garden
Claude Monet was a French impressionist painter who lived from 1840 to 1926. He loved his beautiful garden and enjoyed painting there, just like we hope you will enjoy this garden, too! There is a little house styled like Monet's house in Giverny, France. You can walk inside and see how it might have looked in his era, listen to the gentle flowing of Huckleberry Creek just outside, and enjoy lots of other things to do in Monet's house and garden!
Garden Activities
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Look inside Monet's book box and enjoy reading the books.
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Learn about Monet's painting style.
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Try your hand at painting in his impressionist style.
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Play in his little house.
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Enjoy walking over his Giverny Bridge.
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Wander through his garden.
Books for Monet's Garden
The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt
Claude Monet Sunshine and Waterlilies by True Kelley
Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork
A Picnic with Monet (Mini Masters) by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober
Monet's Impressions by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Touch the Art: Count Monet's Lilies by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo
Monet and the Impressionists for Kids: Their Lives and Ideas, 21 Activities (For Kids series) by Carol Sabbeth
Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron, Nancy Harrison and Stephen Marchesi
Naming rights to Monet's House & Garden have been sponsored by Bill Gundacker, in honor of his wife Jeanne. Thank you for your generosity!
The Peter Rabbit & Friends Garden
Based on The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, the Peter Rabbit & Friends Garden is the home to Josephine, Peter's mother, who operates an herbal shop inside her rabbit hole home.
Through the burrow, young children can hop like Peter's family past the gate into Mr. McGregor's Garden, where there are all sorts of exciting things to discover: vegetables growing in little rows, picket fences, Mr. McGregor's house, and his potting shed with watering cans, pots, and tools. Why there might even be a mouse or two! Peter Rabbit is hiding in Mr. McGregor's home. Can you find him?
Garden Activities
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Look inside the Peter Rabbit book box and read all the Peter Rabbit and Friends Tales.
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Help Mr. McGregor plant seeds and water the garden.
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Look for Peter's little blue jacket.
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Discover the watering can Peter tried to hide in.
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Clean and sweep the potting shed.
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Sort out Josephine's herbs and learn how they are used.
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Identify all the vegetables growing in Mr. McGregor's Garden.
Naming Rights to Peter Rabbit & Friends Garden have been sponsored by Wayne & Barbara Black Tolle and Larry & Judy Wait. Thank you for your generosity!
Books for the Peter Rabbit and Friends Garden
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The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
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The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
The Three Little Pigs' Houses
Books for the Three Little Pigs Garden
The Three Little Pigs by Gavin Bishop
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
The Three Little Pigs by Patricia Seibert
Three Little Pigs (Night Night, Sleep Tight) by Nick Page
The Three Little Pigs (Folk Tale Classics) by Paul Galdone and Joanna C. Galdone
The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
This tiny garden is designed especially for our youngest visitors. They will want to try building their own little house of straw, sticks or bricks. But they'd better watch out for the Big, Bad Wolf!
Garden Activities
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Locate the Three Little Pigs cute book box and read the books with a friend or parent.
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Act out the story.
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Try to build a house of straw, sticks, or bricks.
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Think of better ways to build your house.
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Can you make up a different ending to this story?
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The Woodland Garden
Garden Activities
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Find the Woodland book box and read the books.
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Learn about the unique tracks different animals leave behind at our Animal Footprints station.
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Climb our grassy hill and look at the whole Garden from on high.
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Scrub clothes using the old fashion washboard.
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On special days watch a real blacksmith at work.
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Have a picnic on the tables.
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Enjoy the murals around the garden.
Books for the Woodland Garden
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The Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night illustrated by Peter Spier
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Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
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Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox
The Butterfly Garden
Tucked in beside the Monet House and the Van Gogh house, this garden is home to many butterflies as well as many pollinators. It is gorgeous and inviting all year round. Walk the quiet path and enjoy the seasonal flowers and wildlife. Sit down, rest, and read on the green Butterfly Bench!
Books for the Butterfly Garden:
* From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman
* The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
* Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
* Oh Where Oh Where is my Swallowtail? by Kaleela Thompson
* The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller
What will we do in this garden?
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Look inside the Butterfly Garden book box and enjoy reading the books.
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Count the butterflies.
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Walk the path and listen for the butterflies.
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Make a butterfly to take home.
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Draw butterflies.
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Using the books, try to identify the butterflies.
The van Gogh House
Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch impressionist artist, lived from 1853 until 1888. He is best known for his paintings, including Starry Night, The Postman, several paintings of himself (self-portraits), and a number of still life paintings of sunflowers and of irises. Vincent van Gogh especially enjoyed making paintings of children. He once said that it's the only thing that "excites me to the depths of my soul, and which makes me feel the infinite more than anything else." The van Gogh House is sponsored by Kim and Mike Sheffield. The interior has been painted by local artists, Jennifer Butts and Yasmin Gonzalez.
What will we do in this house and garden?​
· Locate Van Gogh's colorful book box and enjoy reading the books for this themed garden.
· Sit in his colorful house and read books about his works and his life.
· Use your imagination and play in the house.
· Tend his tiny outdoor garden.
· Find his paintings and observe how his style changed over the years of his life. How many of his works did you locate?
· Think about what you might want to paint in his style.
· Write down your questions about Mr. Van Gogh and put your name on them. A Van Gogh "expert" will read them and answer on the bulletin board in his kitchen. Visit his garden on another day and find your answers.
The Giving Tree Plaza
This is the magical entrance to
the Children's Storybook Garden &
Museum. Field trip students gather here before going to their sessions. Our Huckleberry Creek begins here and the entrance to Monet's House and Garden is in this charming area. When you enter, you will be walking on our special memory bricks. Folks love to read the names and notice who they know.
Bricks can be ordered online or during your visit to the Garden.
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The Giving Tree Plaza is lovingly sponsored by Debbie Jones.
