My oldest daughter, Emily, and my youngest daughter, Stephany, and I spent the afternoon out on the town together one day last week. For us, out on the town generally means lunch at a favorite spot followed by a trip to Target, Starbucks, Kroger, or someplace like the Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens.
After getting our stomachs full with lunch, Em, Steph, and I went to the beautiful Western Kentucky Botanical Garden. The beautiful garden (which, if we were to get technical is a lot of gardens, as opposed to just one) is located at 25 Carter Road in Owensboro.
About the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden
In 1993 the Master Gardeners of Daviess County dreamed of creating a botanical garden as a community service project. Pursuing this dream Susie and Bill Tyler donated 8.3 acres of land to the City of Owensboro for the express purpose of developing the garden. A few years later another 1.22 acres was purchased by the Garden to make a private entrance to the Garden from Carter Road.
As you tour the Garden, some of the sights you’ll see include:
Welcome Center. The house was donated by Dr. Artis and Allison Truett and was moved to the Garden in 2002. The black iron railing bordering the patio dates to about 1860. At one time it was used to enclose the Daviess County Courthouse!
The Welcome Center contains a horticultural library.
The Welcome Center, as well as other areas of the Garden can be rented for weddings, private luncheons, dinners, meetings, and events. On the day we were there, a wedding was being prepared in an area near a gazebo. I can’t tell you what a gorgeous view the guests at this wedding were going to be treated to!
Rose Garden. You can actually smell the beautiful rose garden before you even enter it! There are over 250 roses in the rose garden and the beauty has to be seen (and smelled) to be believed. There are climbers, hybrid teas, floribundas, miniatures, and English roses.
Children’s Garden. Special gardens have been created especially for kids to enjoy. These include a Zoo garden, Butterfly garden, Pizza garden, and a maze of China Girl Hollies. More gardens are in the works.
Daylily Garden. There are approximately 350 different plants in this garden. Peak bloom season is mid June – mid July (we timed it brilliantly!), but some varieties will re-bloom right up to frost.
Gazebo. The beautiful Vora Gazebo is really something special. This gazebo is available to rent for weddings or other events. The shade provided by all of the trees, including magnificent elm trees makes it a very comfortable spot – and hard to walk away from.
Herb Garden. The design of the Herb Garden is based on the Herb Garden in the Cleveland Botanical Garden and contains many theme areas: medicinal, tea, culinary, fragrant, dye, a Peony walk, and a Knot Garden. As someone who normally has a colossal herb garden, herself, I was especially intrigued (and SO impressed!) by the huge herb garden. The sights and smells were intoxicating.
Wildlife. You’ll no doubt see a large number of beautiful birds who call the Garden home sweet home. There are also fish in a couple of beautiful ponds. Other wildlife include a fox, ground hog, squirrels, and rabbits.
There were quite a few other gardens, including an Ornamental Grass Garden.
In addition to the gorgeous plants, trees, flowers, and gazebo, there are also a lot of large, highly unique, whimsical, and fun lawn figurines. We got a huge kick out of these guys. You can see these adorable figurines on the photo gallery page I’ve put together. See Western Kentucky Botanical Garden Pictures.
Best Tour Guide Ever!
Now. The best for last. If you know anything about me, you know that in addition to my three beautiful (and so very loved) human daughters, I have four other babies – my cats! I’ve always loved cats with a particularly strong passion. So much so that, when people ask how many children I have, I’ll usually answer “3 without fur…” then I’ll give the total of my fur-wearing children, currently four. So, it’s only appropriate that one of my favorite parts of the trip to the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden was our “tour guide.” As we entered one of the first gardens, we saw a beautiful little black cat coming toward us. Me, being me, I got down on my knees and made fast friends with him.
He was so friendly and sweet. He accompanied us to a few of the gardens, smelling and observing everything with us. Then he retired to the gazebo for a nap. After all, he wore himself out with all of greeting and guiding. Best tour guide ever! Needless to say, there are more pictures of this little beauty in the gallery as well.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $1 for students. It’s money, and time, very well spent. Grab a few of your favorite people in the world, and spend a wonderful afternoon or morning together. Time spent with loved ones is always a beautiful thing – and when you place a gorgeous backdrop like this behind you, it’s even sweeter.
Stephany and Emily seeing how some of their favorite pictures turned out as I make them MY favorite picture!
See more Western Kentucky Botanical Garden Pictures by clicking the link and be sure to visit the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden website for more information, events, and contact details.
