Summer Highlights

Roses, water-lilies, and meadow flowers are among the many beautiful blooms to see during summer. Here are some of the highlights.

Plan Your Visit

Rose Garden

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The historic Cranford Rose Garden is in full glory in May and early June with a second flush in September through mid October. Some of the original specimens planted when the garden opened in 1927 still grow here, along with a vast collection of modern hybrids.

Look for

• Hybrid tea roses. Almost all of the modern hybrids have been bred to bloom repeatedly into the fall. The pink, double-flowered Rosa ’La France‘, located in the garden’s northwesternmost bed, was introduced in 1867, marking the birth of the modern hybrid rose tradition.
• Grandiflora roses, like Rosa ‘Sunshine Daydream’, many of which are also beautiful fall bloomers.
• Lilies, clematis, wildflowers, herbs, and other perennials. The garden practices organic methods, one of which is including a variety of pollinator-friendly, pest-repelling plants among the roses to promote a healthier collection.

Water Garden

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The picturesque Shelby White and Leon Levy Water Garden features a meandering stream that flows into a pond lined with wetland plants and offers many shady spots to sit and take in the view. It is also a working landscape that captures excess rainwater to reduce urban flooding.

Look for

• Riparian plants like summer-blooming hibiscus, rushes and sedges, and umbrella plant. These are plants that have adapted to living near the water’s edge, and some also help clean and filter the water.
• The rock weir, which helps regulate the depth of the pond. When heavy rains are approaching, the pond can drop to accommodate excess stormwater and reduce runoff.
• Water fowl and other wildlife. Ducks, herons, frogs, and dragonflies are all drawn to the pond and stream.

Lily Pool Terrace and Annual and Perennial Borders

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The pools and fountains here are filled with aquatic plants, most of which are at their peak in the summer. More summer blooms can be found in the beds alongside.

Look for

• More than 100 different water-lilies. The blossoms close at night and open in the morning, so midday is the best time to see them fully open.
• Sacred lotuses. These lovely plants are often mistaken for water-lilies, but their flowers are emergent, meaning they stretch above the water’s surface. (Water-lily leaves and flowers float.)
• The carnivorous plant display in Jenkins Fountain, between the two rectangular pools. If you’re lucky, you may see an insect fall victim to a Venus flytrap or pitcher plant.

Also be sure to enjoy the colorful blooms in the Annual Border, planted with a unique design each year, and flowering shrubs like hydrangeas and crape-myrtles in the Perennial Border.

Native Flora Garden

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Designed to represent a variety of habitats native to the metropolitan area, the Native Flora Garden is a wonderful place to escape the concrete jungle in the summer.

Look for

• Wildflowers growing among the tall grasses in the sunny meadow areas in the south part of the garden.
• Aquatic plants, including water-lilies, spatterdock, duckweed, and watermeal, the world’s smallest flowering plant, growing in the garden’s pond.
• The shady forest habitat, one of the quietest, coolest spots in the city during the summer.

The Native Flora Garden is also a prime spot for wildlife. Butterflies, bees, and wasps of all kinds are drawn to the meadow plants, and birds—including ducks and great blue herons—love the pond.