(07/25/17) BATON ROUGE, La. —The cooling temperatures of fall create an ideal time to visit Burden Museum & Gardens, located at 4560 Essen Lane, just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge.

Special events for fall

The Children's Garden Series at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens on Sept. 30 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Children will hear about bees and plants that attract pollinators to their yards. Children ages 6-12 can participate in fun, interactive activities and learn about gardening. An adult must accompany each child. Children will receive snacks and garden take-home crafts. Attendance is limited to 20-30 participants, and reservations are required in advance by contacting Angie Wall at angwall@cox.net. Admission is $15 per child.

Harvest Days at the LSU Rural Life Museum on Oct. 7-8 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Living history demonstrations will interpret activities that took place on Louisiana farms and plantations during harvest time in the 1800s. Activities will include open-hearth cooking, soap making, boat building, hands-on activities for the kids and wagon rides. Regular admission.

Corn Maze Festival at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens on Oct. 7 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Visitors will wander through the corn maze, visit a farm animal petting zoo, paint a pumpkin, climb a hay mountain, travel a kids zip line, take a hayride and shoot a giant slingshot. Concessions will be available for purchase from Burden Horticulture Society volunteers. Admission is $10 per person; children 3 and under are admitted free. Pumpkins for painting will be on sale for $5.

Wine and Roses in the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens on Oct. 11. Enjoy an elegant evening of dining under the stars and among 2,000 roses. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and music on the great lawn. Dinner catered by Heirloom Cuisine will follow at 7 p.m. in the Rose Garden. The evening will culminate with a special fashion show of flowers presented through a collaboration of horticulture students from Mendel University in the Czech Republic and the LSU School of Apparel and Design. Admission is $125 per person for dinner and fashion show or $35 for dessert and fashion show. Reservations may be made by calling 225-763-3990, option 6.

The Corn Maze at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens continues each Saturday on Oct. 14, 21 and 28 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Activities include the corn maze, a farm animal petting zoo, a hay mountain, a kids zip line, a hayride and a giant slingshot. Concessions will be available for purchase from Burden Horticulture Society volunteers. Admission is $10 per person; children 3 and under are admitted free.

The Night Maze and Bonfire at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens on Oct. 28 from 6-9 p.m. is a family fun Halloween-themed evening. Visitors can participate in the corn maze, a hay mountain and other activities. Children and adults are encouraged to costume and enjoy live music while roasting s’mores at the bonfire. Concessions will be available for purchase from Burden Horticulture Society volunteers. Admission is $10 per person; children 3 and under are admitted free.

Haints, Haunts & Halloween at the LSU Rural Life Museum on Oct. 29 from 3-6 p.m. Enjoy the sights, sounds and activities of an old-fashioned country fair. While on the museum grounds, children can enjoy and participate in storytelling, cake walks, pumpkin decorating, games and trick-or-treating. Recommended for children 2 to 9 years old. Admission is $5 per person. Children 2 and under free. Halloween costumes are optional.

The Children's Garden Series at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens on Nov. 4 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Children will hear how to raise backyard chickens and how they can help their garden. Children ages 6-12 can participate in fun, interactive activities and learn about gardening. An adult must accompany each child. Children will receive snacks and garden take-home crafts. Attendance is limited to 20-30 participants, and reservations are required in advance by contacting Angie Wall at angwall@cox.net. Admission is $15 per child.

Red Rooster Bash at the LSU Rural Life Museum on Nov. 9 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. The country décor will include roosters, and Western outfits are popular. Guests will enjoy a cocktail hour including the famous “Red Rooster” frozen drink and have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items. A barbecue dinner and live auction will follow. Proceeds will help fund permanent exhibits in the Visitor’s Center. Tickets are $65 per person and $120 per couple. A sponsorship of $600 is offered to groups of eight registering together. For more information, call development director Molly Sanchez at 225-765-2437.

About Burden Museum & Gardens

Located at 4560 Essen Lane, just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge, Burden Museum & Gardens is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes the LSU Rural Life Museum, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and Windrush Gardens.

The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens is an expansive collection of specialty gardens, woodlands, wetlands and arboreta. Trees and Trails offers five miles of serene walking paths through the Burden Woods. The Rose Garden, Children’s Garden and All-America Selections Display Garden showcase the beauty of plants and flowers and provide educational experiences for gardeners of all ages. No admission is required to tour the gardens.

The LSU Rural Life Museum focuses on the ways of life of rural Louisiana during the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum also provides educational and research resources that advance an understanding of the material and cultural heritage of the region.

Adjacent to the Rural Life Museum, the historic Windrush Gardens comprises 5 acres of semiformal gardens of the Burden family.

Admission to the Botanic Gardens and Trees and Trails is free of charge and open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the Rural Life Museum is $10 for adults 12 to 61 and $9 for seniors and children 6 to 11. Admission to Windrush Gardens is $3 per person. Both are free for kids under 6. The LSU Rural Life Museum and Windrush Gardens are open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except major holidays.

Continuing activities

Trees and Trails, a 5-mile system of pedestrian, recreational and educational trails in the Burden Woods, provides opportunities for hiking and interpretive and educational activities for youth and adults. The Mosaic Boardwalk at Black Swamp guides visitors through a hardwood swamp more than 200 years old. The trail system is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

The children’s garden offers a place to learn about gardening and nutrition. This model garden also provides a location for youth-related organizations and individual families to experience the outdoors, focusing on vegetable, herb and butterfly garden plantings.

Windrush Gardens comprises majestic live oaks and ancient crape myrtles to create a shady canopy over azaleas and camellias, evoking a sense of tranquility and peace. Steele Burden, who was influenced by the gardens of Europe and the surviving gardens of 19th century Louisiana plantations, designed Windrush. The winding paths are ideal for strolling and enjoying the 25 acres of landscaped spaces.

The Rose Garden is a member of the American Garden Rose Selections program, a nationwide network of approved public gardens, and the American Rose Trials for Sustainability (ARTS) program, maintaining an inventory of 1,500 plants representing 150 varieties. Starting each April, the Rose Garden offers an exclusive preview of the coming year’s outstanding new varieties.