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Missouri Botanical Garden

 

DESCRIPTION: The Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the top three botanical gardens in the world, renowned for its research, education and display. The Garden is a 79-acre urban oasis of indoor and outdoor display gardens. Facilities include meeting rooms, classrooms, historical buildings, a restaurant and a gift shop. In addition, the Garden’s Herbarium holds over 5.75 million plant specimens, and its reputation draws scientists from all over the world to conduct research there. The Climatron, located on the Garden grounds, is one of the first geodesic dome conservatories built in the U.S. and the first ever to be used as a greenhouse.

The Garden also operates The Shaw Nature Reserve, 2,500 acres of natural Ozark landscape and managed plant collections, 35 miles southwest of St. Louis, and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield, MO. While ecological research is conducted there, the Nature Reserve also provides environmental education and enjoyment to the public through its 13 miles of hiking trails through lush landscapes. (See separate Fact Sheets for information on the Shaw Nature Reserve and the Butterfly House.)

ADDRESS: P. O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299; 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis,
MO 63110

LOCATION: Southwest St. Louis

PHONE: 314-577-5100 during business hours; 314-577-9400 or 1-800-642-8842 toll free for recorded information.

WEB SITE: www.mobot.org

GETTING THERE: From Downtown St. Louis, take I-44 west to the Vandeventer exit. Turn left onto Vandeventer; go two blocks to Shaw Boulevard. Turn left onto Shaw and proceed two blocks east to the Garden’s free parking lot. Additional free parking is available in the two lots at the intersection of Shaw and Vandeventer.

METROLINK: Take MetroLink light rail transit to the Central West End Station and catch a Metro bus to the Garden.

HOURS: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., daily every day except Christmas; open until 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, Memorial Day through Labor Day. The grounds are open at 7 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays for early morning walkers.

HANDICAPPED ACCESS: The Missouri Botanical Garden is handicapped accessible. If special accommodations are needed, please call ahead, 314-577-0254. A 25-minute narrated tram tour of the Garden is available for $3.

ADMISSION: $8.00 non-resident visitors; free all children age 12 and under; $4.00 visitors age 13-64 with St. Louis City/County proof of residency; $2.00
St. Louis City/County resident seniors age 65 and over. Entrance is free for
St. Louis City/County residents 7:00 a.m.-noon Wednesday and Saturday and 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays during extended summer hours from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Parking is free. Additional admission is charged for some special events and flower shows.

ANNUAL ATTENDANCE: 857,000

SIGNIFICANCE:

  • The Missouri Botanical Garden is considered among the top three public gardens in the world.
  • The Missouri Botanical Garden is the first botanical garden of its kind established in the United States.
  • The Garden is on the National List of Historic Places and in 1976 it was designated a National History Landmark by the National Park Service because it possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States.
  • The Garden operates the largest tropical botany research program in the world with Garden scientists permanently stationed in many tropical countries to collect and identify plants before the tropics are destroyed.

WHAT’S NEW: The inspirational George Washington Carver Garden, which opened October 2005, honors Missouri’s-own “plant doctor” with a memorial statue of the great American scientist, native plantings and a learning laboratory for youth. Recently renovated Tower Grove House, the Victorian country home of Garden founder Henry Shaw, reopened October 2005 with new interpretation about life at the Garden during the 19th century. The Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden: A Missouri Adventure, which opened May 1, 2006, is packed with garden adventures ripe for family fun. A treehouse, Missouri river town, waterfalls, caves and a village complete with General Store and Jailhouse provide a landscaped background to learn about the environment and ecology. A Turkish-style Ottoman Garden, the first of its kind in the U.S., is scheduled for a fall 2006 opening. It will feature exotic plantings, fountains and garden artifacts created in Turkey.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • The Climatron, the first geodesic dome to be used as a conservatory. It incorporates the principles of R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic system. In 1976 it was named one of the 100 most significant architectural achievements in United States history. The Climatron replicates a tropical rain forest complete with lush plantings, pools and waterfalls.
  • The 14-acre Japanese Garden (called Seiwa-en), the largest traditional Japanese strolling garden in North America.
  • The Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden, a showplace of authentic Chinese garden design. It is the most authentic Chinese garden of its size in the U.S. Nanjing is St. Louis’ Chinese Sister City.
  • An English woodland garden, a shady oasis of quiet paths, wildflowers and dogwoods.
  • The Blanke Boxwood Garden, an elegant, formal parterre with the “Leaping Waters” fountains.
  • The award-winning Lehmann and Gladney Rose Gardens.
  • The Strassenfest German Garden which serves as a tribute to St. Louis’ German heritage.
  • Shoenberg Temperate House with plants from the warm, dry regions of the world.
  • The Linnean House, the oldest continually operating display greenhouse in the United States. Built in 1882, it is also one of the last buildings constructed by Garden founder Henry Shaw. Camellias have been grown here for more than a century.
  • The William T. Kemper Center for Home Gardening, the largest non-profit gardening information center of its kind in the nation.
  • Demonstration Vegetable Gardens where visitors can see sequential displays of the best vegetable varieties for the St. Louis region growing.
  • More than a score of fountains and statues which grace the Garden and add to the serenity of the landscape.
  • The elaborate mausoleum where Henry Shaw is interred.
  • “Victory,” a duplicate of Cosani’s “Victory of Science Over Ignorance” sculpture in the Pitti Gallery in Florence.
  • An elegant Victorian garden including a walk-thru maze with observatory, an herb garden and Tower Grove House, Mr. Shaw’s country estate home.

HISTORY: The Missouri Botanical Garden was created by Henry Shaw, a native of Sheffield, England, who came to St. Louis in 1819. Shaw was so successful as a businessman he was able to retire by the age of 40. On a trip back to England, he was inspired by the grounds of Chatsworth, the most magnificent private residence in Europe. When he returned to the U.S., he decided to begin his own botanical garden.

Shaw opened his garden to the public in 1859. It grew in the European tradition of horticultural display combined with education and the search for new knowledge. Today it is acclaimed worldwide for being on the forefront of botanic research with projects conducted around the world. Shaw also gave St. Louis Tower Grove Park, an unusual Victorian walking park, and Shaw Nature Reserve, some 35 miles west of St. Louis.

The Garden opened its Ridgway Center which includes a theatre, an exhibition area, a floral hall, an education wing, a restaurant and a gift shop in 1982. Construction of the building moved the entrance to the Garden from Tower Grove Avenue to Shaw Boulevard. In 1990 the Garden’s famous Climatron reopened after a 22-month renovation. The renovation added a new landscape of cliffs, valleys, waterfalls and winding streams as well as new vegetation.

WHAT’S COOL:

  • A 25-minute narrated tram tour of the Garden leaves the tram shelter near the Ridgway Center during the spring, summer and fall.
  • The Scented Garden where plantings have been chosen for their strong fragrance or textured leaves. Visitors are encouraged to smell or touch the plants. The Scented Garden was designed especially to be accessible to visually impaired and disabled visitors.
  • Kaeser Memorial Maze, a Victorian-style maze which creates in concept the maze constructed by Henry Shaw in the 1860’s in Tower Grove Park. Visitors can wander through the labyrinth of hedges.
  • Tower Grove House, the Victorian country home of Henry Shaw. The home is open for public tours except during January and February. Admission is $3. The Tower House carillon chimes hourly and often rings in concert.
  • The city house Henry Shaw owned in the city of St. Louis when Tower Grove House was still in the country. The row house was dismantled and moved to the Missouri Botanical Garden after Shaw’s death. It houses offices and is not open to the public.

WHERE TO GET LUNCH: The Sassafras Café, overlooking picturesque Spoehrer Plaza, is a great choice for lunch. During pleasant weather, diners can eat on the terrace and view the gardens.

GIFT SHOP: The Garden Gate Shop carries plants and a wide variety of interesting gift items, many with a nature or gardening theme.

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: Explore the 19th century Missouri frontier and life along the river in the new Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden: A Missouri Adventure, nearly two acres of fun and learning! Children also love to stand on the bridge in the Japanese Garden and feed the large, brightly colored carp (Japanese Koi) that live in the lake. Fish food is available from vending machines for 25 cents (quarters only). Kids also like to splash in the fountains found throughout the garden.

ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: The Missouri Botanical Garden hosts several annual events including a gorgeous Orchid Show February through mid-March, Chinese Culture Days the third weekend in May, the Japanese Festival Labor Day weekend, the Best of Missouri Market the first weekend in October and the nostalgic holiday flower and train show from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.

WHAT’S NEARBY: Nearby is Tower Grove Park, a Victorian walking park designed by the Botanical Garden’s founder, Henry Shaw, as well as the Grand South Grand Neighborhood.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Karen Hagenow, 314-577-0254, karen.hagenow@mobot.org or Lisa Brandon, 314-577-5141, lisa.brandon@mobot.org.

 

Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com