The American Horticultural Society lists more than 300 public gardens in the U.S. and Canada, so chances are, there is one in your state, or a place you often vacation. Many, by virtue of their presence in a mild climate, are worth a visit year-round. In less temperate regions, public gardens with conservatories and meticulously-designed landscapes are enjoyable destinations any time of year. Most public gardens feature special displays that will leave you breathless, one of a kind sculptures and well-planned landscape features. All are great spots to gather inspiration, information, ideas, photos, and even souvenirs. In this article, we explore three public gardens that are especially worth visiting in early spring.
Atlanta Botanical Garden (1345 Piedmont Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, phone 404-591-1550)
As public gardens go, the Atlanta Botanical Garden is a youngster, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016. The event was marked with a Chihuly glass exhibit, plant collections, art exhibitions specifically designed for gardens, and specialty gardens to rival the earliest American gardens.
In spring, bulb displays at the garden dazzle. In early March the bulbs emerge — 80,000 strong — with powerful pops of color in the form of daffodils, crocuses and hyacinths. A short while later, the early and mid-season tulips show off their charms. This year’s color theme is red, peach, purple and yellow.
In the Levy Parterre section of the garden, you’ll find 5,000 more tulips than in years past, these the sunshine colors of orange and yellow. Varieties include ‘Orange Queen, ‘Orange Emperor’, and ‘Big Smile’. Among the last of the spring bulbs to arrive are 500 purple ‘Globemaster’ Allium, which continue the show after 3,400 ‘Big Brother’ and ‘Clearwater’ tulips have faded.
But don’t wait to visit until after April Fools’ Day or you’ll miss out on the fantastic displays of Orchid Daze, running from February 10th through April 1st. Its located in the Fuqua Conservatory and Orchid Center, where, any time of year, you’ll find the country’s largest permanent collection of species orchids.
Orchid Daze pumps up the impact with its over-the-top vertical canvases embellished with living corsage orchids, pansy orchids and slipper orchids. The foundation surrounding the towering bloom scape is carpeted with orchids that mirror the patterns above.
Even the biggest of orchid fans will get their fill at this show. Visitors pass under a canopy of Dancing Lady orchids and skirt the walled passage of a fragrant orchid mosaic before entering a trellised atrium decorated with moth orchids and planters of Cymbidiums. And that’s all before entering the Orchid Display House, where a hanging framework of spectacular large-flowered Vandas are featured.
The Atlanta Orchid Society’s Show and Sale runs from March 9th through March 11th, 2018, and includes individually created orchid exhibits, many of which contain unusual and rarely seen species and hybrids. Admission to the show is included with garden entry fee.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden has a special treat for summertime visitors. Joining permanent topiary sculptures from the 2013-14 exhibit of the International Mosaiculture’s Shaggy Dog and the Earth Goddess is a brand new Imaginary Worlds exhibit that will run May 5th through October 28th, 2018. The sculptures are made using a centuries-old art of covering metal forms with living plant material.
“After the (2014) exhibition closed, we purchased the Earth Goddess, and later International Mosaiculture donated the Shaggy Dog to us in honor of our volunteers, who had planned to raise the necessary money to purchase him because they had grown so fond of him,” said Danny Flanders, the Garden’s Public Relations Manager.This year’s exhibition promises to recapture the magic of the original show with individual pieces that are even larger than in 2013-14. Some of the topiary-like whimsical sculptures will include a huge dragon, a mermaid and a friendly ogre.
Chicago Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N. Central Park Ave. Chicago, IL 60624, Phone 312-746-5100)
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was one of the last visitors to the Chicago Garfield Park Conservatory before it was severely damaged by a catastrophic hail storm. I was there March 29th. Three months and a day later, on June 30, roughly half of the glass panes in the roofs over the Fern Room, Show House, and ten propagation greenhouses were shattered, with the panes of the Desert House sustaining significant damage. The storm occurred in 2011, three years after its 100th anniversary. The conservatory didn’t fully reopen until Earth Day, 2015.
The Conservatory was designed by Jens Jensen and opened in 1908. It was considered revolutionary because it was divided into rooms with special temperatures and humidity levels. The Conservatory is sectioned into eight ‘rooms’ – the Aroid House, Children’s Garden, Desert House, Fern Room, Horticulture Hall, Palm House, Show House, and Sugar from the Sun.
Continuing from the past, the Palm House is the largest room in the Conservatory. Along with around 70 palms, a squad of tropical plants cover the ground and insinuate themselves through one another to create a jungle effect. “In our Palm House, the Climbing Oleander will be blooming in March and April,” says Garfield Park Conservatory Deputy Director of Conservatories, Matthew Barrett. “We have also just opened a new, immersive jungle path which allows patrons to meander under the canopy of large palms and get closer to the plant material and see their features up close.”
The Fern Room is a visitor favorite. Meant originally to evoke prehistoric Chicago, it stirs the imagination with lush plants, an indoor lagoon and a humid landscape. To add to the illusion, the collection of turtles in the Fern Room’s pond come out to bask on sunny days.
Making up just a fraction of the greenery in the Aroid House are philodendrons, peace lilies, elephant ears and a Calabash tree. The most colorful residents are the fanciful glass lily pads, which “float” on the pond. Created in 2001 by world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, the Persian Lily Pads came through the hail storm unscathed. Sharing the pond is a collection of brightly-colored Koi.
Pretty much the antithesis to the Fern Room, Aroid and Palm Houses, is the Desert House. Stark and noticeably dry, the plants that live here are known for their ability to adapt to very low moisture. The tiniest cacti and succulents grow in clutches amidst the rocky soil, their taller counterparts erect and imposing. Aloe and barrel cacti are recognizable thanks to the succulent houseplant craze.
The Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden provides a fun and comfortable indoor setting for families and school children. Protruding in the midst of the colorful displays is a giant seed, built to climb on, but it is also a learning tool for looking ‘inside’ where a plant’s life begins. Children can slide down a curling stem slide, or gently stroke a sensitive plant, which closes at a touch. The garden includes extensive plantings, a pond featuring hydroponic plants, and large, sculptural displays based on the themes of plant birth, growth and reproduction.
Matt Barrett, Deputy Director of Conservatories, promises that this year’s spring flower show, Hashtag No Filter, will feature hanging baskets and colorful acrylic that transform the central island into an immersive and authentic natural escape. Among the many blooming plants are azaleas, tulips, Freesia, African daisy, geraniums, Ranunculus, stock, snapdragons, Marguerite daisy, weeping cherry, and flowering almond. The show takes place in the conservatory’s Show House and runs through May 13th, 2018.
So, what else is happening in early spring at the Chicago Garfield Park Conservatory? Barrett and his staff invite visitors to keep an eye out in the Aroid House for the Black Queen Anthurium, the Pink Flamingo flower and the Giant Philodendron. And in the Palm House, the climbing Oleander will be blooming. The staff has completed a new jungle path, designed to allow patrons to meander along under the canopy of large palms in order to get closer to the plants and see their features up close.
Missouri Botanical Garden (4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110, Phone 314-577-5100)
If you could visit just three public gardens in the U.S., one should definitely be MOBOT. The acronym stands for Missouri Botanical Garden. The Garden was founded 158 years ago, and is still surprising visitors on a daily basis. At 79 acres, it’s not particularly large as public gardens go, but its staff has done a lot with what they have.
Springtime means tulips and daffodil displays. The average peak time for spring bulb displays is early to mid-April. But in all things artistic, it’s the backdrop that makes or breaks the impact. One of the most spectacular of the spring bulb locations is the quarter-acre walled Bakewell Ottoman Garden, with its paved patio, various fountains and architectural elements fabricated in Turkey to provide a strong sense of authenticity. And what could be more authentic than a display of tulips, which originated in that country.
Adjacent to the Ottoman Garden is the Linnean House which features sweet-scented citrus, fragrant olive trees and perfumed pink jasmine. A collection of Camellias — all at their peak from January through March — are on display at one end of the stand-alone greenhouse. Many of the plants are moved into outdoor spaces when the weather warms up.
No matter what month you visit, the geodesic-domed Climatron conservatory is a great place to be. At more than half an acre, the futuristic structure holds 14,000 species of tropical plants that includes bananas, cacao and coffee trees, plus a collection of orchids. Visit MOBOT through March 25th to see the Orchid Show, held in the Ridgeway Visitor Center.
Just north of the Climatron is the Shoenberg Temperate House, which features one of the most iconic elements at MOBOT — a beautifully-tiled Moorish walled garden that reflects major elements in the history of formal garden design. The house delivers a Mediterranean climate, warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. Late winter and early spring are the best times to enjoy the Temperate House, keeping in mind that spring comes two months ahead, allowing its olive, carob, bay and oak trees to leaf out ahead of time.
Unique flowers from the Mediterranean climate regions of the world include African daisies (Osteospermum fruticosum), Australian kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos flavidus) and Mediterranean throatwort (Trachelium caeruleum).
In the same house, but a world apart in cultural requirements, is a boggy display of carnivorous plants from the southeastern U.S., including pitcher plants, flytraps, butterworts and sundews.
The Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden is open from April through October, and offers hours of exploration for children of all ages. Features include a treehouse and a fort, which can be accessed through elevated bridges. A waterfall, cave, rope bridge, pollination garden, and tree slide are just a few of the highlights. A visible schedule allows parents to see all activities on offer to determine which best suit their children’s interests.
To learn more about all of the gardens within the Missouri Botanical Garden, see the most recent informational guide with garden descriptions.
Visiting public gardens is rewarding but sometimes can be expensive. Adult admission to the Atlanta Botanical Garden is $21.95. The Chicago Garfield Park Conservancy is free 365 days/year and the Missouri Botanical Garden is $12. Membership in the American Horticultural Society entitles you to special admission privileges and discounts at many public gardens. If you are an AHS member I suggest calling the garden you wish to visit to determine what is available.
PlantersPlace is pleased to initiate a series listing some of the best public gardens. Winter is an especially good time for a visit to a public garden because it can provide an out-of-season experience. Whether you are snowbound in the Midwest or just taking a winter’s break in a friendlier climate, why not schedule a visit to one of the public gardens featured in this article? In order of appearance, they are located in Lake Wales, FL, Phoenix, AZ and Grand Rapids, MI.
Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales, FL, is a National Historic Landmark, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and gifted to the public by founder Edward William Bok in 1929. Not only does it feature several formal themed gardens, Bok Tower Gardens is a designated site on the Great Florida Birding Trail. Hours and directions: Bok Tower Gardens is located 55 miles southwest of Orlando and 60 miles east of Tampa near Lake Wales, Florida, and is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., last admission at 5 p.m. The Visitor Center, Café and Gift Shop are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12. Members and children under 5 are admitted free.
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ, is located in the midst of the Sonoran Desert. The site, comprised of 140 acres, is divided into thematic trails, each devoted to a different aspect of desert plantings. Desert Botanical Garden is at 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85008, and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Mountain Time). For more information, call (480) 941-1225 or email contact@dbg.org. Admission is $24.95 for adults and $12.95 for ages 3-17.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI, is worth a visit, even in winter. The 158-acre campus is located at 1000 East Beltline Ave NE, and features a five-story, 15,000 square-foot tropical conservatory. The Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park campus is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $14.50 for adults, $7 for children age 5-13 and $4 for children from 3-4. For more information, call (888) 957-1580 or email info@meijergardens.org.
*The new LEED-certified Covenant Learning Center is a 20,000 square foot space designed to promote interactive learning, foster creative thinking, integrate technology, and support a wide range of educational offerings. It is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2018.
Testing a Plant
Each year, these plants are grown like crops in a farm field under the baking sun and open to the driving rain. The best plants for your garden are tested in these harsh conditions to help assure success, even if you don’t give them the royal treatment. Hybridizers send their best and brightest to trial gardens to be put through the rigors of a regional summer.
Behind the scenes and well before a plant arrives at your local garden center, thousands of varieties are tested for uniqueness and general improvement. One such testing program is All-America Selections (AAS). It began at a time when no one had heard of social media, owned a digital camera or could call up the latest news from a home computer. It was an era before information about new plants was easily disseminated. In 1932, W. Ray Hastings of the Southern Seedsmen’s Association of Atlanta, Georgia came up with a way to inform the public about new varieties while benefitting commercial seed companies. The first All-America Selections program was comprised of trial grounds set up by seed companies that grew new varieties in different conditions throughout North American climates. Flower and vegetable varieties were grown and assessed by independent judges.
The main principle was, and is still today, that all plants would be new, previously unsold varieties. AAS Trials have been conducted every year since 1932. The number of sites varies, but usually consists of around 80 trial locations throughout the United States and Canada. Universities, public gardens, breeding companies, growers, brokers, extension agents, and retailers are current and potential judging sites where new varieties are compared with those already available in the trade.
How it Works
Plants are slotted into one of four categories, including:
AAS Winners are announced three times each year in November, January, and July. Think of AAS as the plant version of Underwriter Laboratories or Good Housekeeping’s Seal of Approval. The program gives home gardeners some assurance of improved garden performance when planting AAS Winners.
AAS Trial Grounds
Just one of these trial grounds is set up at C. Raker & Sons in Litchfield, MI. A leading wholesaler of custom grown plugs and liners in North America, C. Raker & Sons supplies more than 3,000 plant varieties to retail garden centers around the planet.
Their trial grounds this year featured over 3,400 unique varieties represented in approximately 100,000 plants. It’s a sight to see for anyone with an eye toward success in their own garden. The trial grounds are open to wholesalers, retailers, breeders, and others in the horticultural industry, assuring that those who grow and offer plants for sale will choose the best.
A section of the testing grounds at Raker is set aside for both AAS Trials and AAS Display Gardens, where previous years’ winners are exhibited.
According to Raker Trial Gardens Director Greg Michalak, two judges evaluate flowers in the AAS trials. “We document the progress of the plants from sowing until the end of the season. There are checklists we use and we take photos for every step to help with the judging,” he explained. “They are officially evaluated a few times throughout the summer. We don’t treat these any differently than our other trials.”
Diane Blazek, Executive Director, All-America Selections receives the raw data from all of the trial judges. Since the premise of AAS is the comparison of new plants to existing varieties, only those that perform better, and are thereby considered improvements, are declared winners. Future news releases about winning varieties include descriptions and comments written by judges who evaluate the plants in the field.
Some 2017 AAS Winners
No matter where you live or garden, you’re probably within striking distance to an AAS Display Garden. While not all of the best plants available for your garden are AAS winners, it’s interesting to see those chosen by this program used in a garden setting.