Horticulture
The Lena Meijer Conservatory at Meijer Gardens is a five-story, 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) facility featuring rock landscapes by designer Philip diGiacomo and plant selections by garden designer Stephen Rosselet. The conservatory houses tropical plants from around the world, including coconut palms from the Pacific, fig trees from India, exotic orchids from Central and South America, Asiatic bamboo and banana trees. Additional indoor gardens include the nation's most comprehensive carnivorous plant house, arid house, featuring Saguaro cacti, and Victorian conservatory.
The outdoor gardens, by internationally acclaimed landscape designer James van Sweden of Washington, D.C., and garden designer Penelope Hobhouse of Sussex, England, feature four-season plantings that can be enjoyed throughout the year. In September 1997, the Leslie E. Tassell English Perennial & Bulb Garden and the New American Garden were dedicated.
To foster an educational awareness of numerous ecosystems in West Michigan, the Wege Nature Trail is a paved path that winds through a forested section of the property. It is connected to the Frey Boardwalk which brings visitors to the natural wetlands. Featured on these walks are bird watching sites, natural prairie areas, a tadpole pond and beautiful vistas.
The Gwen Frostic Woodland Shade Garden, dedicated in June 1998, commemorates the artistic influence of a well-known naturalist artist and writer and features woodland plants including ferns, hostas, bleeding hearts, rhododendrons and azaleas.
In May 2003, Meijer Gardens opened the 3-acre (1.2 ha), Michigan Farm Garden as a place where families can experience gardens filled with heirloom vegetables, orchards and figurative animal sculpture within a 1930s era farm setting complete with a 100-year-old barn and replica of Lena (Rader) Meijer’s childhood farmhouse.
The Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater opened in June 2003. The outdoor music and theater venue features a covered stage set to symphony standards, and is able to accommodate almost any musical performance. As a garden itself, the Amphitheater features tiered lawn seating for 1800 people. Past musicians featured on the Meijer Gardens stage include Art Garfunkel, B.B. King, David Byrne, Ani DiFranco and George Benson.
The Lena Meijer Children’s Garden at Meijer Gardens opened in June 2004 and is one of the largest children’s gardens in the nation. This unique family experience revolves around the enchanted world of plants, gardens, sculpture and nature through creative interactive areas encompassing 5 acres (2.0 ha). Woodland tree houses and a log cabin, an interactive water garden, a butterfly maze, sensory garden and much more, is featured within the most enchanting children’s gardens in the Midwest.
As part of Meijer Gardens' educational focus, the Peter M. Wege Library offers reference books and periodicals on horticulture and sculpture.
Read more about this topic: Frederik Meijer Gardens And Sculpture Park