Local light–Wellfield Gardens

The night before the night before Christmas the SO and I got tickets for the Christmas festival of lights at Wellfield Botanical Gardens in Elkhart, Indiana. Since our house is less than 20 miles away it was super easy to make plans. We did not specifically plan to arrive shortly after the gates opened, but it happened that way. We scooted right in with no delay. Upon our departure we thanked each other for the unintentional early arrival as we encountered hundreds in line in that type of queue where you go down to one end, turn 180 degrees and go down to the other, “rinse and repeat” until you finally get to your goal.

The goal, however, was well worth it. Over a million lights festooned trees, bridges, and garden structures. Walking the entire area took about a half hour, and gave various viewpoints to enjoy for each grouping of lights. So go ahead, enjoy a couple minutes of photographic documentation! Before I turn you loose, though, I have to mention that Wellfield is where I participated in their annual “Taste of the Gardens” art fair in 2018 and 2019. I won the “Best Overall” award both years, which involved a pretty hefty $$$ prize. Since I don’t stray very far from my display tent at a show, I had never seen the entirety of the gardens in person. Even though it was a night-time stroll, I still got a good idea of the size and variety of the place.

Reflections on the water were sometimes prettier than the actual lights.

There are water features everywhere at Wellfield. This flowing section was enhanced by colored lights which changed every few seconds. I liked this purple/blue shade the best.