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Lopata Azalea/Rhododendron Garden
This display features azaleas, rhododendron species and cultivars, magnolia hybrids, and hardy shade tolerant companion plants beneath a high canopy of native trees. An enchanting garden throughout the year, flowering peaks in late April and fall color is at its peak in late October.

Gladney Rose Garden
Shaped like a giant wheel, this garden displays hundreds of hybrid tea and floribunda roses. Many climbing rose varieties are featured on the formal fence and arbors that enclose it. Peak display lasts from early summer through autumn.

Linnean House
Built in 1882 to over winter palms, tree ferns and citrus trees, this brick conservatory is the oldest continuously operating display greenhouse in the United States. Camellias, fragrant olive, and colorful companion plants have been featured here since the 1930’s. Creeping fig and summer flowering vines adorn the gracious Victorian architecture. Peak season of bloom is January through April. Adjacent to the Linnean House are several display areas, including:

Swift Family Garden
A perennial border, aquatic pools, display beds of annuals, and an arbor are enclosed by privet, yew and boxwood with a giant arborvitae hedge. Peak bloom season is spring, summer, and fall.

Bakewell Court Garden
Perennial and seasonal bedding plants accent a brick paved courtyard. Peak bloom season is spring and summer.

Cohen Court Garden
Tall yew hedges enclose this intimate garden of plants with yellow flowers, fruit, and leaves that reaches its peak in summer.

Isabelle Baer Garden
A soft rose and blue-grey limestone terrace surrounding two fountains is framed by pleached trees, azaleas, and colorful annuals. Peak season of bloom extends from spring through autumn.

Bakewell Ottoman Garden
This Turkish-style walled garden is the first of its kind at a botanical garden in the U.S. The Ottoman Garden is devoted to the enjoyment of the senses. Fragrant flowers and aromatic herbs surround the center focal point, a shallow pool of water called a havuz. Various fountains and artifacts created in Turkey provide a strong sense of authenticity.

Samuels Bulb Garden and Heckman Bulb Garden
From late February through early November, flowering bulbs and bulbous plants display their brilliance in rolling, brick-lined beds amongst companion shrubbery, flowering trees and annuals. During spring peak, tens of thousands of bulbs representing dozens of different perennial genera bloom in a world-class display. Throughout the summer, many species of tropical bulbs are added, carrying the flowering display through late fall. The summer peak features a wide selection of lilies, cannas, aroids, and tropical amaryllids. Nationally recognized collections of Narcissus and Lilium are featured in these two gardens, as well as many rare and endangered bulbs from around the world.

Zimmerman Sensory Garden
This garden, designed for the visually impaired, features Braille and raised-letter labels, and is a delightful experience for all. The garden also features scented and texturally enticing flowers, herbs, spices, and raised beds for visitors in wheelchairs. The Bell Tree Sculpture and Shell Fountain delight the ears of visitors and provide great entertainment for the young and young-at-heart. Peak season of bloom is summer.

Shields Hosta Walk
Hostas with green, blue, yellow, and multi-colored foliage thrive below stately trees. Ten wild species and over 40 cultivars are featured among companion plants with interesting leaf textures and flowers. Flowering bulbs, magnolias, and witch hazel accent the area in spring; astilbes and lilies in summer; and dogwoods in fall. Peak season of bloom is summer.

Goodman Iris Garden
Hundreds of cultivars of bearded iris are in peak bloom around Mother’s Day, representing nearly every color of the rainbow. Tall, intermediate, border and dwarf bearded irises, as well as Japanese, Spuria, Louisiana, Siberian, and many rare species comprise this nationally recognized collection. Many of the collection’s bearded irises rebloom, repeating the flowering season from late August through late November.

Jenkins Daylily Garden
Adjacent to Shaw’s original stone wall, this nationally recognized daylily garden provides a link between the Goodman Iris Garden and the Victorian district of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Over 1,250 daylily varieties representing many different award collections, wild species, historic varieties, and Missouri-hybridized cultivars bloom throughout June and July, with many reblooming through late fall.

Milles Sculpture Garden
This sculpture garden consists of three large reflecting pools which span the axis from the Spink Pavilion to the Climatron^®. The pools, built in 1913, have been fully renovated and display seven works by the late Swedish sculptor Carl Milles. Bald cypress trees frame the majestic vista, further accented by seasonal borders including pansies, tulips and summer annual displays. The tropical water lilies and giant Victoria water lilies peak in August and September, and have been a major Garden attraction since before the famed 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Climatron^® Geodesic Dome Conservatory
This stunning conservatory has become a symbolic image of the Missouri Botanical Garden. The geodesic domed structure was inspired by the futuristic design of R. Buckminster Fuller. Covering over a half-acre, the Climatron houses some 1,400 species of plants in a natural, tropical setting. Visitors enjoy viewing bananas, cacao, and coffee trees, plus a collection of orchids and epiphytes. The rare double coconut, possessing the largest seed in the plant kingdom, is on display. A large collection of cycads, primitive gymnosperms with massive, divided leaves, are also on display. Several pools and waterfalls give a sense of lushness, as if visitors were within a true tropical rainforest. The Climatron is an ever-changing, impressive display all year long.

Shoenberg Temperate House
This dramatic greenhouse complements the Climatron, flanking the domed structure to the north. The spacious conservatory displays plants unique to the temperate regions of the world. Many of these regions are characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters. This conservatory features plants from the Cape region of South Africa, southern and southwestern Australia, the central coast of Chile, the Mediterranean Sea basin, coastal California, the temperate regions of Japan, China and Korea, and the southeastern U.S. The Temperate House has seven distinct interior gardens. Plants of the Bible can be found in one display, including figs, grapes, pomegranates, laurel, and numerous herbs and spice plants. A special carnivorous plant bog features insect-eating flora. In addition, a historic stone portico overlooks a beautifully tiled Moorish walled garden that reflects major elements in the history of formal garden design. Peak season of interest is late winter and early spring.

Heckman Rock Garden and Kassabaum Dwarf Conifer Garden
These two delightful gardens are located immediately in front of the Shoenberg Temperate House, crossing the path into the Heckman Bulb Garden. The Heckman Rock Garden features a myriad of flowering bulbs, perennials and shrubs from rocky and alkaline environs. Many plants native to Missouri glades as well as endangered species from the Republic of Georgia are grown, complimented by various dwarf conifer selections. The Kassabaum Dwarf Conifer Garden features many fine selections of hardy, dwarf-growing conifers for the Midwest.

The Knolls
This picturesque landscape provides a scenic vista between the Milles Sculpture Garden and Henry Shaw’s Mausoleum Garden. The Knolls feature slightly undulating topography and artfully placed clumps of trees and shrubs. Since 1914, this has been a wonderful spot for visitors seeking a solitary, simple setting. Peak season of interest is spring, summer, and autumn.

Dry Streambed Garden
Within the knolls, visitors find this special spot, which contains a small pond featuring hardy water lilies, other aquatic plants, and a dry stream garden, framed by colorful daylilies, ornamental grasses and shrubs, and many endangered species which are held for the Center for Plant Conservation. Peak season for flowers is from summer through autumn.

Lichtenstein Victorian District
The new Doris Waters Lichtenstein Victorian District unifies and enhances several gardens and Victorian-era buildings. The area, with many resurfaced paths and historically appropriate materials, stretches from the enclosed Victory of Science Over Ignorance sculpture to the eastern wall, back to founder Henry Shaw’s original city townhouse. It includes:

Mausoleum Garden
This garden is a step into the past, as if taking a trip back to the Victorian Age. A wrought-iron fence encloses the area, which is sheltered by majestic, towering oaks and sassafras trees. The ground is blanketed by Baltic ivy and liriope. In spring, small blossoms of snowdrops and scilla peek through the ivy and liriope. It is here, amid this dark, green chamber, that Garden founder Henry Shaw rests.

St. Louis Herb Society Herb Garden
Directly behind Shaw’s summer home, Tower Grove House, one discovers this intimate garden. Inspired and tended by the St. Louis Herb Society, this quaint courtyard includes beds of culinary and medicinal herbs.

Kaeser Memorial Maze
This entertaining and puzzling maze recreates one constructed by Shaw in the 1800s. Visitors wind through a labyrinth of yew hedges bordered with arborvitae. Yews alternate with paths leading to a vine-clad gazebo.

Kresko Family Victorian Garden
This Victorian garden is a majestic example of the height of fashion in England at the time Shaw was planting his gardens in St. Louis. The style of landscaping was introduced in the early 1800s when new varieties of flowers were coming into England from different parts of the world. Elaborate and colorful combinations of flowers, foliage, and succulents were combined in “plant tapestries,” the combination referred to as “carpet bedding.” Spring, summer, and fall displays of lush and vibrant floral orchestrations light up this area in Victorian style and grace.

Strassenfest German Garden
The German garden incorporates some of the native flora of Germany and central Europe, as well as plants hybridized or discovered by native Germans. The design is that of a woodland setting and plantings are meant to have a natural, informal appearance, with no particular design or pattern. The artistic centerpiece for the garden is a bronze bust of Dr. George Engelmann, a German physician who immigrated to St. Louis in the 1830s. He was a noted botanist and a principal advisor to Garden founder Henry Shaw. The sculpture is surrounded by some of the new species of plants described by Engelmann or named for him, including conifers, cacti and grapes.

Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden: A Missouri Adventure
The Children’s Garden is all about family fun, play and learning. Children and adults explore themes of adventure and discovery on the 19th century frontier as they learn about the importance of plants in daily life. It opened in Spring 2006 on nearly two acres west of the Climatron.

Lehmann Rose Garden
This large rose garden contains historic cultivars, miniature roses, modern hybrid tea, floribunda and shrub roses, and test roses. Horticulturists evaluate new rose hybrids in conjunction with the All American Rose Selection, Inc.’s yearly trials for the best new rose of the year. A gazebo with a fountain and small pool can be found near the south end of the garden. Toward the center the Kerchival Fountain entertains visitors near the test roses. The dramatic Shapleigh Fountain at the north end of the garden is especially a favorite among children. Peak season of bloom is early summer and autumn.

Holly Field
Located near the Lehmann Rose Garden is a collection of American Hollies. Several cultivars are represented, included red and yellowish-orange fruited varieties. Also found in this area of the garden are bottle-brush buckeye, tulip poplar, London planetree, gingko, ash, tilia, oak, beech, maple, hackberry and serviceberry, as well as spruce, hemlock and pine, representatives of the conifer family.

Located between the Holly Field and the Lehmann Rose Garden is a sculpture entitled “Birds” by the artist Robert Lee Walker, a Missouri native. “Birds” was installed in 1976 as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Edwin R. Waldemer. The sculpture also doubles as a drinking fountain with two small bubblers.

Cherbonnier English Woodland Garden
This quiet, informal garden attracts people and wildlife alike. Three vegetation layers, typical of a mature woodland support an upper tree canopy; a middle shrub layer; and a lower layer of herbaceous perennial plants and ground covers. Several small clearings permit the sun to spear shafts of sunlight through the dark overhead canopy. In the spring, hundreds of woodland flowers including dogwoods, trillium, Virginia bluebells, winter aconite, and azaleas put on a massive display. This garden was renovated in 1994, almost doubling the size, adding several water features, and making it accessible to wheelchair users. Peak season of interest is from early spring through summer and into autumn.

Seiwa-en, Japanese Garden
This garden is named Seiwa-en, which means “the garden of pure, clear harmony and peace.” Designed with great care by the late Professor Koichi Kawana to ensure authenticity, this 14-acre garden is the largest of its type in the Western hemisphere. A four-acre lake is complemented with waterfalls, streams, and water-filled basins. Dry gravel gardens are raked into beautiful, rippling patterns. Four islands rise from the lake to form symbolic images. Several Japanese bridges link shorelines; families delight in the feeding of the giant “koi” (Japanese carp). Visitors are enthralled by cherry blossoms, azaleas, chrysanthemums, peonies, lotus, and other oriental plantings. This garden represents centuries of tradition and a multiplicity of cultural influences synthesized in a uniquely Japanese art form.

George Washington Carver Garden
This inspirational garden honors the life and accomplishments of the extraordinary scientist and native Missourian who greatly influenced 19th and 20th century agriculture and education. Designed for peaceful contemplation and learning, the garden features a small amphitheater surrounding a life-size bronze statue of Dr. Carver, surrounded by a reflecting pool. Plantings of viburnums, hydrangeas, and sweet potato vines provide a secluded, intimate feeling. The Carver Garden is intended to serve not only as a memorial but also a learning laboratory for educators and students. 

Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden (Chinese Garden)
It is often said that a Chinese garden is built, not planted. Architectural elements such as walls, pavilions, bridges, sculptural stones, and pavings are of central importance, while plantings of plants native to northern China or integral to Chinese gardens are used sparingly. Designed in the traditional colors of black, white, gray, and vermillion, the intricate artistry and exquisite detail of the Nanjing Friendship Garden pavilion, the focal point of the garden, creates a subtle elegance in the landscape. Tiles designed and fired in China were used to create the roof of the pavilion, decorate the window frames and lattices, and top the wall. Craftsmen and women from Nanjing constructed the major features including the mosaics in the bluestone path. This garden, designed by Chinese born architect Yong Pan, is a showplace of absolutely extraordinary craftsmanship. This Chinese garden is beautiful any time of the year.

Blanke Boxwood Garden
The elegant beauty of boxwood has been valued in gardens for thousands of years; from the “pleasure gardens” of ancient Persia, to the landscapes of Greece and Rome, and the formal gardens of Europe. Boxwood gives shape, structure, and evergreen foliage to any garden setting. As visitors follow the main walkway, they arrive at a pavilion resting on a rise, and find a quiet place to sit in the shade. From this spot, visitors enjoy a view of the beautifully designed boxwood garden and the surrounding grounds, including the English Woodland Garden and the Kemper Center demonstration gardens.

Kemper Center for Home Gardening
The 23 distinct residential-scale gardens are attractively contained in a spectacularly engineered eight-acre design. Adults and children visit and learn about vegetable gardening, flower growing, planting ornamental shrubs, landscaping, indoor plants, and more than a dozen other horticultural displays. The Kemper Center features an 8,000 square foot pavilion which contains displays, a reference library, a demonstration potting room, a greenhouse, the Plant Doctor clinic, and much more for the gardening enthusiast. Visit the Kemper Center throughout the year for timely tips and advice on gardening and related subjects.

Allée of Osage Orange Trees
Of historical note are the large Osage Orange trees, believed to date back to Henry Shaw’s time. He planted these trees to line the road to his house, which stretched from Tower Grove House to Old Manchester Road, known today as Vandeventer. Also found in this area are several large trees including pin oak, sycamore and tulip poplar. Smaller trees include crabapples, bird cherries and chestnuts.

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 150 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science and conservation, education and horticultural display. Missouri Botanical Garden: Green for 150 Years.

6/09