Located northwest of the Formal Rose Garden, the Backyard Garden was developed in 2019. It is designed as an informal landscape with year-round interest to give visitors ideas for their own backyard gardens. As you walk through the Backyard Garden in any season, notice the variety of plant shapes, sizes, textures and colors. Currently, many of the perennials are blooming in a spectrum of jewel tone colors. 

A bit of history: This area was originally established in the 1980s as the Daffodil Garden, which unfortunately declined over the decades. In 2006, it was re-developed as an Earth-Kind Demonstration Garden. At the time, Earth-Kind roses were promoted as robust and low maintenance. Over the years, they did not perform well in this garden and in central Ohio’s USDA plant hardiness zone.

In creating the Backyard Garden, many existing, mature plant specimens and the paver walkways were retained. Ongoing plant additions include a variety of shrubs, perennials and some annuals with the aim of attracting butterflies and other pollinators.

Enjoy your Backyard Garden experience!