The Cleveland Botanical Garden, located in the University Circle neighborhood of
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
History
The origins of the Cleveland Botanical Gardens began to bloom in 1916 when Eleanor Squire donated horticultural books to the Garden Club in Cleveland. The garden itself was founded in 1930 as the Garden Center of Greater Cleveland. It was the first such civic garden in an American city. Originally housed in a converted boathouse on Wade Park Lagoon, the center served as a
horticultural
Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
library, offering classes and workshops for gardeners and spearheading beautification projects in the community.
In 1966 having outgrown its original home, the Garden Center moved to its present location in University Circle, the site of the old Cleveland Zoo. Remnants of the old
bear pit
A bear pit is an enclosure historically used to display bears, typically for entertainment and especially bear-baiting. The pit area was normally surrounded by a high fence, above which the spectators would look down on the bears.
The most trad ...
still remain in the Ohio Woodland Garden. The move occurred after nearly six years of heavy springtime flooding in University Circle. That same year, the boathouse was damaged from the onslaught of flooding and the boathouse was demolished. Due to the damage to the boathouse and other structures in University Circle, a city initiative to install sewers and interceptors to control future flooding were installed near the Circle.
In 1994, the organization's Board of Trustees changed the name from Garden Center of Greater Cleveland to Cleveland Botanical Garden to reflect a dramatically expanded mission and launched an ambitious capital campaign to develop a facility that would support the enhanced program agenda. The expanded and renovated building, designed by Graham Gund Architects of
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, opened to the public in July 2003. The Cleveland Botanical Garden expanded again in 2014 when it joined forces with the Holden Arboretum. The two entities joined and became Holden Forest & Gardens. As of 2024, visitors of the Cleveland Botanical Garden can enjoy the extensive horticultural museum, special events, an indoor-outdoor all season botanical experience, and much more. The Gardens also supports environmental research, community outreach, and urban farming programs.
Facilities
The centerpiece of the $50 million 2003 expansion is The Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse, a 17,000 square foot (1,700 m²) conservatory home to plant and animal life from two separate
biome
A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...
s, the spiny desert of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
and the
cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...
of
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
. They feature over 350 species of plants and 50 species of animals, including hundreds of butterflies.
There are also of gardens, including the award-winning Hershey Children's Garden (the first children's garden in Ohio), the Elizabeth and Nona Evans Restorative Garden, the David and Paula Swetland Topiary Garden, the Western Reserve Herb Society Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Sears-Swetland Rose Garden, the Ohio Woodland, the C.K. "Pat" Patrick Perennial Border, and the public Campsey-Stauffer Gateway Garden.
Awards
The Vail Medal is awarded for "significant national contributions to the field of horticulture" Past winners include Lynden B. Miller
In popular culture
The gardens were featured in a fifth-season episode of ''
Supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
Botanical gardens in Ohio
{{Commons cat, Botanical gardens in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the south ...