Memphis Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located in Audubon Park at 750 Cherry Road, Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
Memphis Botanic Garden is open to the public daily, where guests can take a stroll through the many gardens on the grounds. There is also a children's garden, called my Big Backyard, which is very popular with Memphians and out of towners.
Memphis Botanic Garden hosts many big events each year, such as the Daffodil Dash Race, The Family Egg Hunt, and Mother's Day Jazz Brunch. The garden also offers a range of educational programs for youth and adults. Several plant sales are held each year at the garden to benefit its educational and horticultural programs.
Another big fundraiser for Memphis Botanic Garden is Live at the Garden concert series. Now in its 10th year, Live at the Garden is a popular event for thousands of Memphians.
Admission to Memphis Botanic Garden is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $3 for children ages 3 and older. Children under the age of 2 get in free.
History
The gardens have gradually been established in Audubon Park from 1953 onwards, including the creation of an arboretumArboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
(1957) and magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
garden (1958), as well as the movement of an existing rose garden to the area (1958).
The Goldsmith Civic Garden Center, housing the Garden's administrative offices, an auditorium and the Water Garden Room, was completeted and dedicated in 1964. The gardens were formally named the Memphis Botanic Garden in 1966.
Gardens
Today the garden contains 23 specialty gardens, including:- Tennessee Bicentennial Iris Garden - hundreds of varieties of bearded irises, plus other iris types from Louisiana, Japan, Siberia and Spuria.
- Conifer Collection (1981) - including many dwarf conifer varieties.
- Herb Garden (1986) - over 100 types of herbHerbExcept in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s. - Japanese Garden of Tranquility (1965, 1989) - designed by Dr. P. T. Tono, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
; redesigned by Dr. Koichi Kawana. - Rose Garden - 75 roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
varieties. - Sensory Garden (1989)
- Anne Heard Strokes Butterfly Garden (1997)
- Memphis Garden Club Water Garden
Honors
The Garden has several unique features and was recently certified as a Level 4 ArboretumArboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, the highest designation, making it one of four in Tennessee.
In 2006, the Garden's Hosta
Hosta
Hosta is a genus of about 23–45 species of lily-like plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae, native to northeast Asia. They have been placed in their own family, Hostaceae ; like many 'lilioid monocots', they were once classified in the Liliaceae...
Trail was recognized by the American Hosta Society as one of fifteen nationally certified trails in the U.S and one of two certified trails in the South.
Charity
Charity NavigatorCharity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
has awarded the Memphis Botanic Garden as a Four Star Charity making it in the top 14% of all non profit organizations in the U.S. for financial management.
In 2006, the Memphis Botanic Garden became a Blue Star Memorial Garden
Blue Star Memorial Highway
Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the program in 1945 after World War II. The blue star was used on service flags to...
in cooperation with the National Garden Clubs.