Happy 10th Anniversary Gilroy Gardens!

What a party! In celebrating their 10 year anniversary, Gilroy Gardens opened its doors to all Gilroy residents--with your golden ticket (that came with a Gilroy City utility bill) and proof of residency, you and three other guests could get into the park for free. How could you pass that up?! (Online you would pay $29.99 for a single day admission.) We saw so many people from the community; it was like a big Gilroy City Party!

For those of you who have never been to Gilroy Gardens, I would love to introduce it to you! Gilroy Gardens was the dream child of Michael and Claudia Bonfante. After selling their Nob Hill Foods supermarkets, they used the profits to create a horticulture theme park they called Bonfante Gardens. The Gardens opened its doors in June of 2001. Later, in March of 2007, the park was renamed to Gilroy Gardens. Nestled in the western rolling hills of Gilroy, all of the Park’s rides, attractions, and food courts are built around elegantly designed gardens and beautiful waterways.

Among the magical attractions of the park are the unique Circus Trees—nineteen of them can be found though out the park. These trees were originally created by the late Axel Erlandson who used intricate grafting techniques to weave the tree branches into living pieces of art. Michael Bonfante rescued these trees from Scotts Valley, California, after they had been neglected following

Mr. Erlandson's death.

Here is a great example of a Circus Tree called the"Basket Tree". This tree is actually six Sycamores grafted together in 42 different connections to give it its basket shape.

Below are three more Circus Trees.

For more information and a video about these amazing Circus Trees, go to: Circus Trees - Bonfante Gardens Videos P. Allen Smith Garden Home
Below are more sights you can see throughout the park.

If you look closely below, you can see the Swan Paddle Boats in the background.

Quicksilver Express Mine Coaster (below)--is just one of the rides at Gilroy Gardens. If you look closely, my hubby is in the back, with his hands in the air (click photo to enlarge).

It was a hot day yesterday, my daughter and her friends were thrilled to go running through the Bonfante Falls to cool off.
Below you can see the Mushroom Swing Ride in the background with the Rainbow Garden Round Boat Ride in the foreground.
More sights of the park.

What a great day of friends and celebration. A heartfelt thanks to Michael and Claudia Bonfante for making their vision a reality, one which all of us here in Gilroy can love and enjoy. I hope the park stays open for many more years to come—and that someday I can bring my grandchildren here! Happy 10th Anniversary Gilroy Gardens!

For more information about Gilroy Gardens, go to:
http://www.gilroygardens.org/about.html