50+ Lifestyles

Take Time to Smell the Roses …

By Mary Schricker Gemberling

“Flowers are the music of the ground from earth’s lips spoken without sound”   … Edwin Curran

I am sitting by the fireplace on a chilly April day wondering what to write about this month. Many of my past Spring articles have been about gardening. Since we sold our home in the country last October and are living in a condo, I will not be designing, digging, planting and weeding a garden of my own this year. Friends, knowing how much I love gardening, have asked if I was going to miss it. Of course I will, but I intend to find other ways to indulge my passion for flowers. Perhaps (shhh! I haven’t told Gary yet) we could visit some of the well known beautiful gardens our country has to offer! My research indicates that each of our fifty states has a designated public state garden. Let us focus on the states in the Midwest region of the United States since they are the ones we are more apt to visit.

My first pick is not far from home. The Chicago Botanic Garden is one of the country’s largest with 385 acres and more than 2.6 million plants. The 27 gardens range from an English walled garden to a Japanese garden and include aquatic, prairie, rose, sensory, residential, and model railroad gardens, as well as a large bonsai collection.

Often visited during my childhood, the next choice is one of our country’s oldest botanical gardens, the Missouri Botanical Garden. It attracts visitors with 79 acres of formal gardens, international gardens, demonstration gardens that teach home gardening skills, and conservatories, including a half-acre geodesic dome that houses a tropical rainforest. It is known for its research, trial gardens, and work in conservation and sustainability.

Just over 150 miles west of Davenport, lies the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Tropical plants fill the conservatory while temperate gardens enhance the outdoor spaces. A walkway of maples come alive in the spring with a display of over 3,500 Iris. The rose collection intermingles with herbs, and a waterfall garden contains paths of lilacs as well as thousands of spring bulbs. Looks like we need to visit this one sometime this spring!

To our north we can visit Munsinger Clemens Botanical Society in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Munsinger gardens, on the site of a former sawmill, grew out of a Depression-era project that produced trees, flower beds, a lily pond, rock-lined paths, and a greenhouse. Clemens Gardens consists of a rose garden with more than 100 varieties, a rest area with fountains and vines, a white garden, a formal garden, a perennial garden and a trellis garden with a giant arbor surrounded by four large one-color beds. Free public concerts, an art fair, and other events are on the calendar.

Wisconsin’s Olbrich Botanical Gardens is nearly 100 years old.The sixteen acre gardens have something blooming all year. The Bolz Conservatory, complete with orchids and other tropical plants, a waterfall, and free-flying tropical birds, is especially delightful in bone-chilling Wisconsin winters. A gilded pavilion, a gift from the Thai government, is surrounded by lush grasses and bamboo that look tropical but surprisingly can survive the climate.

In Valparaiso Indiana you can find the Gabis Arboretum Gardens. Its signature plants are trees and shrubs including native oaks, viburnums, and dogwoods. There are seven gardens for plants, with native flora, roses and a miniature railroad on display. Landscapes include prairie, wetlands and woods.

With more than 60 acres of display gardens and relevant plant collections, the Toledo Ohio Botanical Center is a place of tranquility and opportunities for exploration and reflection. It is also a center for the arts and neighbor to Hawkins STEM Academy and Natural Sciences Technology Center, creating a campus for horticulture, art and education. The facility operates an urban and agriculture center that supports more than 125 community gardens.

In Kansas, you will find the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. A majority of the 300-acre park in the Kansas City Area is devoted to the preservation and restoration of native ecosystems. Visitors can enjoy hiking trails, a Monet garden with pastel blooms, a xeriscape garden that requires no watering, and a model train garden, as well as quiet pastures beside waterfalls.

The Lauritzen Gardens in Omaha Nebraska offers four seasons of displays on more than 100 acres. It includes an arboretum and bird sanctuary, woodland areas for hiking, water features, English perennial borders, and Victorian, conservation, herb, tree peony, model railroad, and children’s gardens. A conservatory hosts tropical plans and a revolving series of exhibits.

While visiting Michigan you will find the Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton on 775 acres owned by the University of Michigan. It includes an arboretum; a place where trees, shrubs, and plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. There are also gardens featuring hostas, dwarf and rare conifers, bonsai, and perennials. A conservatory houses tropical plants arid plants, and houseplants. The 10 areas of hiking trails give nature lovers ample room to roam.

The Northern Plains Botanical Gardens Society in Fargo, North Dakota showcases the biodiversity of the northern Great Plains, while housing many specimens of exotic plants. Featured displays include butterfly and hummingbird gardens; a chrysanthemums test gardens; and an alphabet garden with plants placed in alphabetical order.

In the final state of the Midwest Region lies a 25-acre formal garden on the campus of South Dakota State University. It serves as a testing ground for new species including irises lilies, mums, peonies, shrub roses, hostas, and ornamental grasses. Butterfly and hummingbird gardens feature plants that attract these fleeting pollinators, and a prairie garden showcases native habitats. A medicinal garden highlights plants used by local Native Americans.

So why is it important for these states to have a designated botanical garden? This naturalized landmark in a community brings special events and cultural opportunities to people who might otherwise not be exposed. Botanical gardens often create educational programs for adults and children in order to teach them the value of conserving our environment. I am pretty sure Gary and I will not make it to all of these great state gardens, but it’s the beginning of our journey to find ways, in lieu of gardening, to enjoy and appreciate the flora that surrounds us.

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.”  … Luther Burbank

Mary, a former educator and Seniors Real Estate Specialist, is the author of four books: The West End Kid, Labor of Love; My Personal Journey through the World of Caregiving, Hotel Blackhawk; A Century of Elegance, and Ebenezer United Methodist Church; 100 Years of Resiliency.