Rio Grande Botanic Garden: A delight for everyone, and don't miss the Japanese gardens

The 36 developed acres offers the whimsical Children's Fantasy Garden, a family-pleasing G-scale model trains rolling through tiny villages and over bridges, the meticulously maintained and beautifully lush Rio Grande Heritage Farm.

For summer, the seasonal PNM Butterfly Pavilion features hundreds of free-flying North American butterflies and moths.

But newest and perhaps the most beautiful spot of all is the Sasebo Japanese Garden.

This four-acre Japanese-themed garden was designed by Toru Tanaka, founder of Portland Landscape Design and Japanese Garden Speciality. It features Asian landscaping with local plants. The Japanese feel is unmistakable, but the lush plantings, strong waterfall, and little hideaway coves along the path are gorgeous. Stone lanterns and pagoda sculptures dot the grounds..

The Sasebo Japanese Garden is named for Albuquerque's Japanese Sister City.

The Botanic Garden is certainly a garden of delights, and the Japanese garden is truly an oasis. Don’t miss this one.