Our Exquisite Formal Gardens

The Formal Gardens include the following:

Garden Green
This lush expanse of lawn, with an allee of ash trees, is bordered by tall yew (taxus) hedges. Annuals in limestone planter walls provide seasonal color along its length.

North & South Plazas
These elevated plazas offer excellent vistas of the garden complex and its stimulating seasonal colors.

Arbor Garden
An assortment of hardy, disease-resistant roses is the backbone of this bed with a mixture of annuals, perennials, shrubs and vines, all embraced by a traditional arbor of limestone and timber.

Victor Ries Memorial Garden
Located along the woodland edge, this perennial garden is dedicated to the founder of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs.

Community Gardens
There is a 6.5 acre parcel of land behind Wegerzyn Gardens which is nutured by over 100 city residents who grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers each year in 28' x 28' plots, May through October. Information is available each March for the upcoming season, call (937) 277-6545.

Memory Garden
Many interesting and beautiful species can be found in this perennial, woodland shade garden, built in recognition of members of the Garden Club Federation - Dayton & Vicinity who have supported the development of the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark.

Federal Garden
This garden features brick paths and parterres (beds that form a pattern) in a style reminiscent of the late 18th and early 19th Century American gardens. The garden is planted with historic and modern plants to evoke the period. Of special interest are the arches of European beech trained over the walks at both ends.

English Garden
The design and plantings in this space are evocative of English gardening style. The lovely wooden arch is the garden’s focal point and is typical of classic English garden architecture.

Victorian Garden
This garden echoes the gardening style popular at the end of the 19th century when carpet bedding featured masses of plants set out in elaborate patterns. The focal point is a raised, pebble-walled bed in the shape of a star, modeled after one at the Dayton Soldier’s Home in the late 1800’s.

Reception Lawn
This area behind the Arbor Garden is a quiet area bordered in beds mounded to give privacy and a place to relax and reflect upon the wonderful gifts that nature has given us.

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. Learn More >>

• Visit the Children's Discovery Garden webpage
• Watch a Video Tour!
• Download a map of the Children's Discovery Garden

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.

Other Park Features:

The Marie Aull Nature Trail
This gentle trail affords visitors a chance to enjoy nature in the wild. It is adorned by a stunning variety of trees and wildflowers, and provides many opportunities for spotting native birds and wildlife.

The Swamp Forest
This fascinating area provides visitors a rare opportunity to view and experience a pristine riparian (riverbank) habitat. With the encroachment of agricultural, industrial and residential expansion, these natural habitats are severely threatened.

Stillwater River Recreation Trail
The Central Segment of the Stillwater River Recreation Trail passes through Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark and travels north to Shoup Mill Road and Riverside Drive. To the south of Wegerzyn, at Island MetroPark, this trail connects with the Great Miami River Recreation Trail. Cyclists, runners and skaters can easily access Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark from the recreation trail, or can begin their journey on the recreation trail from the Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark parking lot.