Cleveland Botanical Garden

Search again Edit this page
United States of America - Ohio - Cleveland

Institution Code: CLEV

BGCI Member: No

Cleveland Botanical Garden front entry
Cleveland Botanical Garden front entry

About the Cleveland Botanical Garden

For seventy-five years, Cleveland Botanical Garden has been one of Northeast Ohio’s treasures. With beautiful facilities and innovative programming, the Garden reaches out to every segment of the community. It is a sanctuary for those who live and work in the city; a source of inspiration and information for gardeners; a living laboratory for students, teachers and researchers; a healing presence for those with special needs; and a catalyst for urban revitalization. In recent years, Cleveland Botanical Garden has extended its reach far beyond Northeast Ohio, becoming a national leader in urban horticulture, horticultural therapy and environmental education.

Cleveland Botanical Garden was founded in 1930 as the Garden Center of Greater Cleveland, the first such organization in an American city. Originally housed in a converted boat house on Wade Park Lagoon, the center served as a horticultural library, offering classes and workshops for gardeners and spearheading beautification projects in the community. In 1966, having outgrown its original home, the Garden Center moved to its present location in the heart of University Circle, the site of the old Cleveland Zoo.

In 1994, the organization’s Board of Trustees changed the name to Cleveland Botanical Garden to reflect a dramatically expanded mission and launched an ambitious capital campaign to develop a facility that would support the enhanced program agenda. The magnificently expanded and renovated building, designed by Graham Gund Architects of Cambridge, MA, opened to the public in July, 2003.

Main Address:
Cleveland Botanical Garden
11030 East Boulevard
Cleveland
Ohio 44106 United States of America

Telephone: (216) 721-1600
Fax: (216) 721-2056
URL: www.cbgarden.org
Primary Email: info@cbgarden.org

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Clement Hamilton, President and CEO
    Curator's Name: Roger Gettig, Director of Horticulture and Conservation
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Mark Bir, Glasshouse Manager
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 11
    Educational Staff Number: 8
    Research Staff Number:
    Administration Staff Number: 6

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: Yes
  • Date founded: 1930
  • Physical Data
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
  • Total Area: 4 Hectares
    Latitude: 41.5104730
    Longitude: -81.6101790
    Altitude: 0.00 Metres
    Total area of glasshouses: 5486 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: No
    Arboretum: No
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: No
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: No
    Disabled access: Yes

Plant Collections

  • Special Collections:Central American (Costa Rican) tropical biome under glass, comprised of woody and herbaceous species, including orchids and epiphytes.

    Madagascar biome under glass, emphasis on species of the arid Southwestern region of Madagascar.

    ca. 10 acres of ornamental display gardens, including woody and herbaceous perennial and aquatic plants winter-hardy to USDA zone 6.

Conservation Programmes

  • Reintroduction Programme: No

Research Programmes

  • Urban Environments: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes