The Inniswood Metro Gardens (123 acres), is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and nature preserve located at 940 South Hempstead Road in

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. Westerville is the home of Otterbein University. Westerville was once known a ...

. It is open daily from 7 am until dark without an admission fee. It is part of the Metro Parks system of Columbus, Ohio. The garden site was first established as the estate of sisters Grace and Mary Innis. They gave their home and land to Metro Parks in 1972. The garden now contains more than 2,000 plant species, including collections of

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', ''Is ...

daylilies A daylily or day lily is a flowering plant in the genus ''Hemerocallis'' , a member of the family (biology), family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. Despite the common name, it is not in fact a lily. Gardening enthusiasts and horticul ...

hosta ''Hosta'' (, syn. ''Funkia'') is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is currently placed in the fa ...

s, and theme gardens (Biblical,

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

al, medicinal,

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, and woodland rock garden). Plantings include

peony The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

, bearded

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

, and naturalized

s. Woodland trails are lined with wildflowers.

History

In 1960, sisters Grace and Mary Innis purchased a 38-acre slice of land that would become Inniswood Metro Gardens. In 1961, they moved onto the property bringing with them mementos from their childhood home on Cleveland Avenue in Linden Heights. Grace had a fondness for horticulture and studied art and horticulture at The Ohio State University. Mary enjoyed the deep woods and spoting wildlife. Together, they created extensive gardens, while preserving natural features of the land. In 1966, Grace died and Mary began the process of donating the site to the Metro Parks system as long as she could live there until her death. Most of the property was deaded in 1978, and adjacant land was purchased to buffer the site from development. Mary died in 1982. In 1984, Inniswood Metro Gardens was open to the public as the eighth Columbus and Franklin County Metro Park.

History

See also