Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (120 hectares / 300 acres) is an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

and botanical garden that was opened in 1991. It is located a mile west of U.S. Highway 69 on 179th Street, Overland Park, Kansas. It is operated by the City of Overland Park, Kansas, a city in the greater

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

Overview

The arboretum includes mature trees and limestone bluffs, with nearly of trails and two bridges across Wolf Creek, a major tributary of the Blue River. The Arboretum opened in 1990 and the first garden was dedicated in 1996. The arboretum has been developed over 20 years, with nearly 85 percent of the site set aside for natural ecosystems. The remaining property is earmarked for gardens, buildings, etc.

Ecosystems

At present, 8 ecosystems have been identified within the arboretum: * Dry-Mesic Prairie - grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem, and

Indian grass ''Sorghastrum nutans'', commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies. Description ...

. * Dry Oak-Savanna - widely spaced oaks in a prairie invaded by woody species. * Dry Oak-Hickory -

shagbark hickory ''Carya ovata'', the shagbark hickory, is a common hickory in the Eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large, deciduous tree, growing well over tall, and can live more than 350 years. The tallest measured shagbark, located in Sa ...

, black oak, and post oak. * Mesic Oak-Hickory Forest - white ash,

bitternut hickory ''Carya cordiformis'', the bitternut hickory, also called bitternut or swamp hickory, is a large pecan hickory with commercial stands located mostly north of the other pecan hickories. Bitternut hickory is cut and sold in mixture with the true h ...

, hackberry, leatherwood, bur oak, red oak, chinquapin oak, pawpaw, and

black walnut ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south t ...

. * Riparian Woodland - green ash,

eastern cottonwood ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernm ...

, elm, hackberry,

, silver maple, honey locust,

red mulberry ''Morus rubra'', commonly known as the red mulberry, is a species of mulberry native to eastern and central North America. It is found from Ontario, Minnesota, and Vermont south to southern Florida, and west as far as southeastern South Dakota, ...

, bur oak,

osage-orange ''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, ...

, sycamore,

, and

black willow ''Salix nigra'', the black willow, is a species of willow native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick and southern Ontario west to Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. Description ''Salix nigra'' is a medium-sized decid ...

. * Wooded Draws -

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

, rough-leaf dogwood,

red elm ''Ulmus rubra'', the slippery elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America. Other common names include red elm, gray elm, soft elm, moose elm, and Indian elm. Description ''Ulmus rubra'' is a medium-sized deciduous tree with a spre ...

, and buck brush as well as pale purple coneflower, milkweeds, prickly pear, and grasses. * Dry Wooded Swales - Similar to the Wooded Draws but with dryer, shallower soil. * Old Field - a severely disturbed zone due to over-grazing and cropping.

Gardens

Gardens developed to date are: * Betsy and Gordon Ross Herb Garden (unknown opening) - shows a variety of common (and uncommon)

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 ...

s. * Welcome Garden (1991) - welcomes visitors with a colorful arrow of plants and flowers. * Erickson Water Garden (1996) - unusual aquatic and

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

plants, a Buddleia collection, wildflowers and ornamental grasses. * Marder Woodland Garden (1999) - a woodlands trail through ferns, dogwoods, native understudy, and a

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

and

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

garden. * Legacy Garden (2000) - plants native or naturalized to Kansas. * Children's Discovery Garden (2000) - a story tree, frog pond,

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

wood, and other amusements for children. * Cohen Iris Garden (2001) - a colorful showcase of Iris Varieties. * Monet Garden (2003) - a one-acre recreation of the famous Water Lilies series by Claude Monet. It attempts to emulate the style of Monet's famous paintings of the gardens at Giverny. * Train Garden (2012) - The first railroad layout, The Leaky Roof Line, was completed in 2012. Soon the Leatherwood Depot – a sheltered area with picnic tables was constructed in 2013. The Arboretum's version of Old Downtown Overland Park and the Strang Line Trolley was opened in 2014. The final phase of the garden opened in 2019. * Stous Promenade (2015) - a collection of trees, open to reserve for weddings.

Overview

Ecosystems

Gardens

See also