Our Children’s Discovery Garden
Designed as a child-friendly place to discover, experience and love our
world through gardening, this garden contains habitat areas and whimsical themed
gardens for children and their adult companions to explore together. Visitors are
encouraged to visit often to see the gardens grow and change. Highlights include
a limestone grotto and waterfall, music maze, wetland, pond and sensory garden.
Be sure to visit Skeeter’s Garden, designed and cared for by local children and
families during public programs.
Entrance Courtyard
This area is the passageway into the Children’s garden. It features bright colorful
plantings that change seasonally, benches for seating, and a short path with peek-a-boo
walls for visitors to peer in at what lies ahead.
Children’s Garden Gateway
This area provides additional seating, signage for welcoming guests and orienting
them to the garden, and a straw bale house with a “living roof” (planted with sedum)
that provides a restroom facility
Ohio Woods
This is a native woodland area planted with spring wildflowers and local shrubs
and trees. The highlight of this area is a fallen tree where children can count
tree rings, look for creatures that call it home, and see decomposition in action.
Ohio Cave
This limestone escarpment and waterfall is a great place for children to go back
in time and explore Ohio’s past. Glacial grooves, a fossil wall, and a nearby stream
provide discovery opportunities for kids of all ages.
Ohio Prairie
A path cutting through tall grasses and native wildflowers gives children an up
close look at an important Ohio habitat. Root boxes on the south end of the prairie
gives children a peek at the underground world.
Wetland Area / Dragonfly Pond
Children love water and the creatures that live in it. On the boardwalk areas, visitors
can get close to the water to see frogs, turtles, fish, and dragonflies and are
surrounded by native and tropical plantings to attract other insects and wildlife.
Playful Plants, Crafts Terrace, and the Playhouse Garden
These areas serve as outdoor play areas where kids can discover just how fun plants
can be. Topiary structures, weird and unusual plants, bean tee-pees, a child-size
playhouse, and plants as play props encourage interaction with the natural world.
Wildlife Garden
Pollinators are an important part of any garden and this area is designed
to attract them. Fun whimsical birdbaths, feeders, and houses accent this area planted
with plants known to attract birds, insects, and more.
Music Maze
Follow the paths of this maze of green to instruments and noisemakers made of natural
materials.
Build-A-Garden Area
Two model-building tables introduce children to garden design through hands-on-play.
Sensory Garden
Bright colored ribbons and flags, textured pavement, raised planters of
fragrant herbs, and rustling grasses provide an atmosphere for visitors to use all
of their senses to experience the garden.
Skeeter’s Garden
This is the prime venue for family and children’s active gardening programs, featuring
garden plots for use by Youth Garden Club members, a shaded area for organized talks
and activities, and a changing garden area where visitors can get ideas for their
own family backyard garden.
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