The sun shone through the glass house. The air was cool, but damp and fragrant. It might as well have been spring.

After spending delicious time in the two bulb show room, I wandered through the succulent house, the fern room, the camellia hallway and the steamy palm house. I finished by the plashing waterfall. A bench was considerately provided. In addition to the wonderful Lyman Plant House which is open to the public every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Smith College Botanic Gardens include perennial beds, an alpine garden, systematic gardens arranged by plant family, and trees. The entire campus is an arboretum where trees are identified and labeled, easily visible, offering not only beauty and shade, but education to all the gardeners who are invited to walk here.