My first visit to the Cornell Botanical Gardens, on some random day during this summer when I didn’t have much else to do, was interesting. I walked down from the dairy bar and wandered around a bit, enjoying the herb garden, reading about roses, and studying a bit inside the summer house near Comstock Knoll. On my second trip to the botanical gardens last Saturday, I went to all the same places i had seen before, but I was able to get more out of it, not only because this was an official tour containing knowledge that I wouldn’t have been able to pick up on my own the first time around, but I extremely enjoyed going with a group of fellow scholars instead of just by myself. I liked learning about all the herbs i had been fascinated by the first time around and finding out about the llenroc limestone that makes up many of the buildings on campus. Between smelling the fragrant chocolate mint, walking up the knoll and sitting on the benches atop its peak, and trying out some of the plants that our guide, Peter Davies, told us were safe to eat at the herb garden, I really felt like part of the group, even though I didn’t especially stand out. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stick around for the whole tour, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience the Botanical Gardens with all of my five senses in a deeper way, even if it was only for a little bit.