Missouri Botanical Garden or Mobot or MBG, St. Louis



Before I share a few more of my observations on life in the US, I'd like to talk about my visits to some places in and around St. Louis. My daughter and son-in-law have been the perfect hosts and are trying their best to make my stay as memorable as possible. Out of the places visited so far, I'd first like to write about the Missouri Botanical Garden as I am dying to share its photos that I took with my new camera ( I have bought a new camera with some upgraded  features).

The Missouri Botanical garden was founded by Henry shaw in 1859 and  has since been a public garden (never closed) and a major research centre. The garden is magnificent and has a rare collection of plants  and some architecturally beautiful buildings. It is a national historical garden and one of the world leaders in botanical research.

I am lucky to be here in St. Louis this year which has been declared the International Year of Forests by the UN. What better way to celebrate this than  visiting such a significant garden ?

The whole place is divided into many sections which have different small theme gardens depending on the collection of the flora and fauna grown there. A summarised list is-

 1. Magnolia Grove

2. Gladney Rose garden

3. Ottoman Garden ; Predominantly with water features like fountains and decorative taps etc.

4. Sensory Garden

5. Hosta Garden

6. Bulb garden

7. Iris Garden

8. Dry Streambed Garden

9. Daylily Garden

10.Victorian garden

11.Strassenfest German Garden

12. Pfautch Bavarian Garden

13. English Woodland

14. Japanese Garden or Seiwa-en: This is a wet path strolling garden with lawns and paths surrounding a lake stylled Japanese way with lots of Bonsai plantation.

15. Carver Garden

16. Boxwood Garden: The house of slow-growing evergreen shrubs and small trees.

17. Lehmann Rose Garden

18. Chinese Garden

19. Dwarf Conifer Garden

20. Rock garden

21. Azalea-Rhododendron Garden

Besides these gardens, there are other structures whch are worth seeing-

1. Linnean house: The oldest, continually operating greenhouse largely houses Camellias.

2. Spink Garden

3. Mausoleum

4. Tower Grove House: This house and the herb garden are Shaw's Victorian country house in Italian style.

5. Observatory

6. Maze

7. Koi fish Feeding

8. Center for Home Gardening

9. Children's Garden

10. Climatron and the Reflecting pools: It is the world's first geodesic greenhouse.

11. Temperate House

12. Gardenland tram

 I recommend a minimum of three hours  for a complete tour inside. Be sure to make enquiries at the office on the recommended sections as these vary from season to season. This way, one can avoid spending time in areas where the plants are not in full bloom.

Information is available at the Ridgway Visitor Center. One can collect a map here and follow it to see the garden, or, there are guided walking tours and narrated tram tours. Besides, various weekend activities and festivities are on with music, food and fun. Festivals, exhibits and presentations are included with garden admission; some programs like canopy tree-climbing , great green adventures etc. have separate fees.

Please allow me to take you on a tour to this massive garden-place through my photo album.

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