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. There are many examples of complementary and/or contrasting combinations that add visual interest — effects you can create in your own garden. You may also be inspired by the various hardscape features present in the garden such as trellises, stones, birdbaths and the various materials used in the pathways.

A bit of history: This area was originally established in the 1980s as the Daffodil Garden, which unfortunately declined over the decades as the Daffodil Society which maintained it shrunk in membership. Some of the daffodils were saved to plant when the space was renovated.

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 have been retained. Ongoing plant additions include a variety of shrubs, perennials, early spring bulbs and some annuals with the aim of attracting butterflies and other pollinators.

Currently, a volunteer group works each Thursday evening to keep this garden looking good. If you are interested, show up some Thursday evening about 6:30. You would be warmly welcomed.

Enjoy your Backyard Garden experience!