More than 135 varieties of trees and shrubs are planted across the 13-acre Columbus Park of Roses. In concert with the flower gardens, they provide a wonderful natural habitat for many birds native to Ohio and migratory birds, as well as beneficial pollinators and insects.

A number of trees pre-date the garden’s formation in 1953, and specimens are added annually. Among the garden’s outstanding collections are dogwoods, ginkgoes, Japanese maples, hydrangeas, conifers and witch hazels. Many are labeled with both their botanical and common names.

The deciduous trees, those that shed their leaves annually, as well as some conifers, are now taking on the red, orange and yellow colors of autumn. These changes depend on the amount of moisture through the summer as well as the declining temperatures and sunlight this time of year.

Year-round, trees and shrubs create interest in the garden —as individual specimens, as structure and as complementary backdrops for other plantings through color, shape and size.

As you walk through the gardens, notice combinations and/or contrasts that appeal to you!

The Columbus Park of Roses achieved arboretum accreditation in 2016, by ArbNet, an organization that maintains the only international program of arboreta accreditation.