On the Yahara A-Z

L.

Little friends at Olbrich Gardens.  After a short pick-me-up chocolate tart at the Chocolaterian Cafe, a

short bike ride to the nationally recognized Olbrich Gardens was in order.  We dialed up our Google maps in order to check out the route and found that it was only a handful of right turns and quick trip

down to the designated bike path and we were there, cruising across the park grass and into a full parking lot, many of which were probably there for the temporary exhibit of the butterfly gardens.

It was a hot day and the sun was straight up at noon so we had to seek shade and some distraction so pulled out our pockets some little friends who wanted a tour of the enormous outdoor garden.

Carly's favorite little collectible people called gift'ems fit right into the scale and panorama of the gardens, and certainly knew better than we did where to find shade and where to find rest.

Olbrich is a seemingly never ending, well-manicured maze.  It was originally conceived by Michael Olbrich, a local standout student who went on to UW fame as a great debater and then a city attorney.  He wanted to build a garden that could be dedicated not just to the upper class who might have the time on their hands to follow various trends in urban gardening but "the worker confronted by the dismal industrial tangle, whose forces we all so little comprehend, something of the grace and beauty that nature intended us all to share.  For this park has not a passive, but an active function." His vision held true and today Olbrich is not just an east side city treasure holds acclaim worldwide as a model of a publicly held community garden as the consistently full parking lots year round attest.