Cleveland Botanical Garden

Cleveland Botanical Garden (founded in 1930) consists of two separate sections - the outdoor gardens (seen on the left in the picture) and the Glasshouse. Immediately after you enter the lobby, you have to make a choice and most people go right to the Glasshouse.

The Glasshouse


There are two completely different environments inside the Glasshouse - the dry spiny desert of the African island of Madagascar and the cloud rainforest of Costa Rica. At the entrance of the Glasshouse, there is a leaf-shaped rotating video screen and you can watch a thematic movie. This area is interesting and slightly spooky at the same time.

Spiny Desert of Madagascar


This is the Madagascar spiny desert, the home of the giant water reservoir tree - the Baobab. There is one tree right in the middle of the desert section of the Glasshouse. See the Baobab tree with its strange ball-like fruits.


Their call it the spiny desert because there are a lot of spines there, I guess... These small yellow fruits are well-protected among so many spikes and spines.


There are bottle trees and octopus trees, and all sorts of other strange, never seen in other places, species. The bottle tree is, you guessed it, like a water bottle, hiding water is its swollen trunk.

Cloud Forest of Costa Rica


One door only separates two completely different worlds - the desert and the rainforest. Let's step in into the Cloud forest of Costa Rica. Enjoy the butterflies!


Butterflies. From an ugly caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, from an ugly ducky to a magnificent swan (remember Hans Kristian Anderesen...). It is the same story all over again. Look for butterflies and you will find them. It is very humid in the rainforest and you can see it in the mist on this info plate.


There is a second level observation platform mounted on this jungle tree.


The Cloud forest waterfall is beautiful from both the ground level and the platform. A giant leaf plant seen through the waterfall.


This is the second level view at the waterfall. It is magnificent especially with the giant blue butterflies flying by.


Colorful rainforest flowers; Flamingo flower


A view up and down from the observation deck.

Outdoor Gardens


Now, let's go back to the lobby and take the entrance on the left towards the outdoor gardens.
This is the overview plan of the Botanical garden.


The 7 or 10 outdoor gardens must be very beautiful during the three leaf seasons (spring, summer and fall) but the winter does not do justice to the gardens and they look bare.

More info:
Park in the underground parking of the Botanical garden. The rate is $2 per hour or $ 5 for the whole day if you visit the garden. Adult ticket is $ 7, kids $ 3.

The optional membership cost is similar to the one in Cleveland Zoo - $ 65 per year for a family, The advantage is that you can visit for one year for free.

The Botanical garden is right in the heart of the University circle and the Art Museum is just across the road, so the $ 5 all day parking fee makes a perfect sense. By the way, the Art Museum is always free.


Cleveland Botanical Garden and Hershey's Children Garden in Summer

References:
Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Created: 05/01/2005
Updated: 09/30/2007