Your Guide to Visiting the Cleveland Gardens
Cleveland is home to some beautiful gardens, located near, and a bit further away from the city. They have an interesting history to learn, and definitely all gorgeous places to visit. They all offer different experiences depending on the time of year you visit. So below are my guides to the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Holden Arboretum, and the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse; including when to visit, what to see, and more.
The Cleveland Botanical Garden
The Cleveland Botanical Garden is located in University Circle, where many other museums are located around Wade Oval. In 1916, Eleanor Squire had donated 250 horticultural books to the Garden Club. Six women from that club decided to transform an old boathouse to be able to house the book collection in 1930. It became the first civic garden center in the United States. During the Second World War, the center actually provided funds for mobile canteens and British war relief, they also maintained the Victory Gardens and delivered flowers to the local hospitals for veterans. But in 1959 there was a flash flood that prompted the leaders of the garden to move locations – they chose the old site of the Cleveland Zoo and reopened it in 1966. Fast forward to 1994, and the Garden Center of Greater Cleveland changed its name to the Cleveland Botanical Garden.
It consists of a greenhouse and outdoor gardens, with its own parking garage underneath. When you first enter the garden, you have two options: the 18,000 square foot glasshouse or the 10 acres outside gardens.
Inside the glasshouse, you’ll find Madagascar and Costa Rica areas with flowers and succulents everywhere, hundreds of beautiful butterflies and birds, and a tortoise. There’s also small glass encounters with other animals, such as a tarantula, frogs, and so on. The butterflies and birds are around humans all day so they will most likely come very close to you, I’ve even seen the butterflies land on people. They tend to land on the ground sometimes too so be careful where you walk! Once outside, you’re instantly amazed by the grounds. There’s a cute little fountain and patio for the cafe. The grounds are just beautiful, there’s a rose garden, Japanese garden, woodland area, and more!
When to visit: I’d recommend late Spring, summer, and fall. That tends to be when everything is in bloom/looking good. I went in the winter once and some plants looked a little iffy. Although during the winter months the garden hosts events such as Orchid Mania and Glow, which are definitely worth checking out.
The Holden Arboretum
The Holden Arboretum, located in Kirtland, is an outdoor living museum. It’s surrounded by beautiful gardens and forests, lakes, and tons of butterflies, birds, and other critters. The Holden Arboretum was created in 1931. Albert Fairchild Holden lost his daughter Elizabeth at age 12 and wanted a memorial for her. His sister thought Northeast Ohio deserved its own arboretum. The family over the years was involved with the planning and location, and the sister, Roberta, donated 100 acres to Lake County for the site of the arboretum. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History actually used to oversee Holden, up until 1952. With investors and The Holden Trust, the arboretum has become one of the largest in the country, and also integrated with the Cleveland Botanical Garden in 2014, creating the Holden Forests and Gardens.
Possibly one of the coolest things to check out in Northeast Ohio is the Emergent Tower. The path to the tower is amazing itself, but your jaw will drop when you reach the tower. It stands 120 feet high with the most gorgeous views of the area. The hike up the winding tower will definitely get your heart pumping, but there’s platforms along the way up for different views of the forest and educational information. Upon reaching the top, you only have 30 minutes to enjoy the view. It’s not usually too crowded up there, but it depends on what time you go. Since it’s so high up and because of the way it’s built, the tower does move with the wind, but it’s nothing to worry about; it’s meant to mimic the trees. The top of the tower tells you what direction you’re facing and what you’re looking at; for instance, it tells you which direction is Lake Erie and if you look close enough you can even see Lake Erie from the top.
Another favorite at Holden; the Canopy Walk is 65′ high with some gorgeous views of the forest. It takes you right next to many of the trees and it kind of loops in a triangle shape with educational information on each platform. As are most canopy walks, it’s a little shaky especially with more people on it. But if you can get on when no one else is on, then you can get some beautiful pictures.
With over 3,500 acres and over 20 miles, Holden has some beautiful trails. In fact, you need to take some of them to get to the canopy walk and tower. While exploring the trails, you’ll get to learn about some of the over 120,000 plants and trees.
When to visit: Late spring, summer, and fall! There’s much less to do/see in the wintertime, especially since the tower and canopy walk won’t be open.
>> Related: Where To View The Fall Foliage In Northeast Ohio <<
Rockefeller Park Greenhouse & The Cultural Gardens
In 1905 the greenhouse was completed on land donated by John D. Rockefeller, a famous industrialist. Originally the place was going to just be used for growing plants and flowers for city use. The Greenhouse sits atop the Cultural Gardens, where on MLK drive you can walk and explore 31 different ethnic groups, that were meant to depict Cleveland’s diversity. Just like the Greenhouse above, this was built on land donated by John D. Rockefeller and construction began in 1916 on the Shakespeare Garden. Most of the gardens were constructed between 1920 to 1930, but more were built over the years; the most recent one in 2011.
Honestly, I would call the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse a hidden gem in Cleveland, it’s free and right by the lake, just a short drive north of the Botanical Garden. It has shorter hours and tends to get kinda busy (depending on the time of day), but it’s definitely worth it. It’s also right next to the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve if you’re looking to expand your trip out that way.
Just like the botanical garden, there’s a greenhouse and outdoor garden. The greenhouse includes desert plants, wetter climate plants, an assortment of orchids, tulips, succulents, and more.
When to visit: Spring and summer. This is a favorite place for seeing tulips in the spring, and greenhouses are always fun in the summertime. Visiting the greenhouse is free of charge, open daily 10 am - 4 pm. Learn more here.
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