★ Gardens to see in Ohio

Stan Hywet-The Seiberling mansion and its grounds.

If you go to Akron, Ohio don't miss this destination. It is closed during the winter months of January to March, but reopens in April. The grounds are well kept and full of interesting gardens of several types. Warren Manning designed the gardens, and Ellen Biddle Shipman redesigned the English garden. Warren Manning advocated "informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach" (1) in much the same way as William Robinson, famous for changing English gardening tastes to this style from the stiff Victorian bedding and decorative garden fashions. Ellen Biddle Shipman was once called the "Dean of American Women Landscape Architects".

Besides the sunken garden in the English style, there is a Japanese garden, a Rhododendron walk, and a famous Birch allee; the wildflower "Dell" and the Lagoon are other features. This is one of the few grand residences and gardens in our state that mimic the great gardens of England. Many wedding photos take place here for good reason. I think two of my favorite features has always been the birch walk and the Japanese garden, which winds down the hillside.

(1) Warren H Manning

Stan Hywet official site

Dawes Arboretum - the legacy of the Dawes family

A famous Ohio family (Beman Gates Dawes, brother of Charles Dawes who was the 30th Vice President of the United States) created this arboretum with gardens around his historical home. Perennial gardens, a Japanese garden, Rhododendron dell, along with the many examples of trees and shrubs, fill the 1,800 acres of the arboretum. It is a short drive from Columbus, located about 20 miles east in Newark, Ohio.

I enjoy the perennial gardens the best, situated down a hillside from the visitor center, followed by the fern garden, and the magnificent Japanese garden. In fact, Dawes is a great place for the Japanophile. Besides the large Japanese garden with teahouse, there are fine bonsai on display in their own garden connected to the visitor center.

My Dawes posts, Hillside and Arbor; Japanese garden.

Dawes Arboretum official site

Franklin Park Conservatory -adjacent to the suburb of Bexley

Rain or shine, gardener or not, Franklin Park Conservatory is fun to visit. Inside are fine displays of climate zones, sometimes with special art exhibitions, sometimes with a live butterfly event (usually beginning in March and running through the summer months.) Outside are botanical gardens, but it is indoors where the real show resides. Walking from desert climes through tropical rainforests is something few can do in a daytrip, but you will find that here. Everyone seems to love the live butterfly event, where the tropical plants vie with attention that clouds of exotic, brightly colored, and friendly butterflies attract as they float through the rainforest enclosure.

The Chihuly Exhibit

Franklin Park offical site

Kingwood Center Gardens - a former estate garden

Gorgeous gardens, especially in spring. The sunken garden, an orangery, garden flower collections of peonies,roses,daylilies and iris mean there is quite a show in early to mid summer, too. The beautiful season displays are accented by fountains and many like to enjoy a picnic on the grounds. Greenhouses full of interesting plants and a beautiful herb garden are not to be missed. Forty seven acres that many visitors feel are like a storybook come alive. Only a parking fee is charged.
The house is open and costs a small fee to enter, and there are events throughout the year. Located in Mansfield, closed in January and February, it is an easy distance from Columbus, Akron, Cleveland and Malabar Farm State Park is not far.

Kingwood Center Gardens

Whetstone Park of Roses- Columbus promises a rose garden

Within the city, right off High Street, is a lovely park; inside the park is a grand rose garden filled with roses, with a gazebo, with a perennial garden, and an herb garden as well. The height of rose season in June is the best time to visit, but with the wooded surroundings and the other gardens, it is a peaceful and beautiful any time of year. This is a favorite place for weddings and you might see one being celebrated here.And what is more romantic than thousands of roses blooming and filling the air with fragrance? An old fashioned rose garden is at the highest point of the garden from which to view the main axis of a formally laid out garden plan, or you can climb to the top of a wrought iron viewing platform. It is a gem of a garden and isn't to be missed, whether it is high season for roses or not. There are private gardens to see which surround the park and offer intriguing glimpses through their gates as one tours the garden and follows the avenue back out into the bustling city. One of my Gardener's Top Ten favorite places to go in Columbus
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From A Garden Journal, Diary of Ilona's Garden

Park of Roses .org
Whetstone Park of Roses
Heirloom Roses in June

Inniswood Metro Park

Another in the top ten gardens to visit in Columbus, Ohio is this once private garden which was given to the metro parks system. It retains much of its personal feeling despite public walkways and the necessary changes a public park must make for the visits of so many people. From the home, which serves as a visitor center today, to the mini-train area right outside the door, to the further reaches of the park, there are many intimate places to discover with many garden ideas. I especially like the secret garden in an area of "old ruins". There are many types of exposures from sunny to shady which hold a great array of flowers and landscape plants.

Inniswood.org
Views of Inniswood

Picture card of the herb garden at Inniswood

Cox Arboretum and Gardens - Dayton's Must See

James M. Cox, Jr. donated his family property for the arboretum which now has a Butterfly House, a tall grass prairie,a wetlands, and many gardens within. The director of the arboretum hopes that people find a refuge and peaceful place here.I t has a shrub garden with over 500 varieties of trees and shrubs, a children's maze, crab apple allee, herb garden, ornamental grass collection, and 3.5 miles of walking trails besides all the gardens.

Cox Arboretum official site

Ault Park- Cincinnati's Home of the Cincinnati Flower Show

The fourth largest park of Cincinnati plays host to the flower show, has flower gardens and considered to have a place on the "must-see in Cincinnati" list (Cincinnati Enquirer). I really would like to see this garden after reading the blog. 'a year in the park', about the Ault gardens.

Ault Park official page.

Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati

Krohn Conservatory, a part of the Eden Park landscape, was built in 1930 in the Art Deco style. In similarity to the Franklin Park Conservatory it hosts a Butterfly Show and is available to rent for events. It holds special events including 5 annual flower shows. Open everyday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and extended hours for the winter holiday show. Call the visitor center at 513-352-4080 for information. Cincinnati FAQs page is a good place to start if you are thinking of visiting the Cincinnati area.

Krohn Conservatory site

A Visit Inside Krohn's

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Cleveland has a very fine children's garden within, the Hershey's Children's Garden. The Hershey Children's Garden at Cleveland Botanical Garden has been considered one of the best of the new public children's gardens that are being built throughout the country.

QR Code for Cleveland
Botanical Garden

It is home to the Japanese Garden (Gan Ryuu Tei). Gan Ryuu Tei translates from Japanese to 'Dry Rock Stream', giving you the focus but holding the mystery of how beautiful this can be. There is also a Rose garden, an Herb garden, and a "Restorative" garden - which is what I would call a Serenity garden. Their site has photos of the beautiful displays, the events and more that you can find there.

The Cleveland Botanical Garden

Cleveland State University Cultural Gardens

Whether you are interested in the Italian cultural garden or the Armenian, the Hungarian ... or one of the others... there are beautiful landscaping, sculptures, ironwork, all with a celebration of a particular culture.

Cleveland cultural gardens site.


The Szekely Gate in the Cleveland

"Clara Lederer, in Their Paths are Peace, describes the principal plot on the upper level as "a rectangular reflecting pool and fountain are set in a pattern of low walls and geometric walks of brick, stone, and marble, and rich plantings of the growths best known in Hungary--hawthorn, yew, cotoneasters, and azaleas. Two linden trees, formal flower beds, and brick, stone, and marble walls and walks are the features of the lower garden. Two wing sections, formal arrangements of lawn, brick paths, and sculptured stone benches, adjoin the larger upper garden. In the section to the left of the entrance is a bas-relief of Franz Liszt." - The Hungarian Cultural Garden"

Toledo Botanical Garden

Toledo Botanical Garden has many features and helps neighborhoods to create community gardens. Among the interesting things to see are the Artist Village, small buildings that resemble cottages to showcase different artistic forms such as glassblowing. there is an English border, a collection of hostas, and shade, herb and perennial garden features.

Toledo Botanical Garden


5403 Elmer Drive
Toledo, Ohio 43615
(419) 936-2986

More About Kingwood Center
-visit the site for fabulous photos,detailed descriptions, and events.

In Mansfield, Ohio is the French Provincial house with gorgeous gardens that Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kelley King built. It is now a center for horticultural education. It is well known for a fine spring display with huge numbers of bulbs, so if you are able to visit in Spring, you will see one of the greatest features of this garden. See a calender of features to view throughout the season.

This is one of the most popular gardens in Ohio to see, with woodland, perennial, and special collections to enjoy. It is also available for weddings.



Kingwood Center Gardens
900 Park Avenue West,
Mansfield, Ohio, OH 44906

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Credits for some photos on this page:
Jim Cochran,photojc123

Daylilies in Whetstone Park in late June/early July

Located in a temperate climate in intercontinental USA, winter is not an ideal time to see the gardens, although an indoor conservatory like Franklin Park Conservatory is ideal at that time. Ohio outdoors tends to be at its best for wildflowers in late April to late May ( although each park has it height of bloom and highlights), late spring to early summer for its perennial gardens, and late summer to mid fall for fall colors. The Ohio Dept of Natural Resources has a site to alert visitors and fall foliage lovers to the season's forecast and reports. Check out their site, Ohio Fall Foliage.

Roses start blooming in late May with the "old roses", and that is the time to catch the bloom for the heritage rose portion of the Park of Roses in Columbus. The main show for roses arrives in the second week of June, usually, though June is the time when roses, peonies, and all sorts of perennials burst forth. Late summer can be a bit dry and not a time when Ohio gardens are at their best,with a resurgence of late summer bloom and beautiful berried bushes in early fall.

Additionally, I think September and October (especially October!) are the best times to visit Ohio and walk through gardens and the parks. The weather is as near perfect as one might be able to expect in Ohio. Springtime can be quite variable with rain and chilly temperatures.

Spring

One of my favorite places for spring wildflowers is Dawes Arboretum, while a hike through Old Man's Cave in Hocking County is also a great place to see dogwood trees, trilliums, dog-tooth violets and numerous others. To see garden bulbs in bloom, visit Inniswood Metro Park Garden, daffodils in the Park of Roses, the grounds of Franklin conservatory, the renowned bulb show at Kingswood (35,000 tulips! this gives you an idea of what kind of a floral show you can find in these months.

Summer

The best gardens to visit in early summer,but any time during summer can be delightfully flowery, are those that major in perennial and annual displays. The gardens of Inniswood Metro Park, Reeves in Dover Ohio, and others are brimming with the best show during early summer and into July, but there are still lovely things in August especially when annuals complete the show.

If you have time to visit Gambier,Ohio during the small window of June 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in 2011, you can enjoy the treat of Schnormeier Gardens -the only time open to the public. there is an admission fee.

Fall

See the video to view Stan Hywet's autumn beauty. Admittedly, tree foliage color steals the show, and our flowers play a background role at that time. Strong showings are made by purple and pink asters, golden and various colored chrysanthemums, but if you pay close attention you will find there are many others whether the wild look of goldenrods or the bright blues of leadwort. My favorite pastime in autumn Ohio is to walk among the trees in flaming colors of fall.

Are you a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright? One of the few of his houses that are available for rent include the Penfield House in Willoughby, Ohio. A beautiful review with telling pictures is written by Peter Beers.
Situated within the woods, there are not gardens per se, but a natural environment that FLW loved to incorporate into his designs.
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