White River Gardens 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 ...

located at

White River State Park White River State Park is an urban park in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Situated along the eastern and western banks of its namesake White River, the park covers . The park is home to numerous attractions, including the Eiteljorg Museum of A ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States. Established in 1999, the gardens are managed and operated by the

Indianapolis Zoo The Indianapolis Zoo is a non-profit zoo, public aquarium, and botanical garden in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Incorporated in 1944, the Indianapolis Zoological Society established the first zoo at George Washington Park in 1964. The c ...

. In 2021, White River Gardens' was home to nearly 50,000 plants of more than 3,000 species. The complex includes a conservatory, fountains and water features, outdoor gardens, a dining and event facility, and of paths. The gardens are situated to the east of the zoo's entry plaza on the western bank of the White River overlooking downtown Indianapolis.

History

White River Gardens' beginnings date to the early-1990s as Indianapolis Zoo officials sought to bring more public attention to the interdependence of plant and animal habitats. The inaugural Bloomfest, hosted in the spring of 1992, was among the zoo's first efforts to heighten awareness. Hired as the zoo's new president and chief executive officer in January 1993, Jeffrey Bonner envisioned several additions to the zoo, including a botanical garden. In October 1996, the Indianapolis Zoo received accreditation as a botanical garden from the American Association of Museums. Plans for White River Gardens were announced in December 1996 with a $5 million gift from the

Lilly Endowment Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and among the largest endowments in the United States. It was founded in 1937 by Josiah K. (J. K.) Lilly Sr. and his so ...

. In April 1997, Stephen and Tomisue Hilbert pledged $3 million to support construction. In October 1997, the Indianapolis Zoological Society oversaw the groundbreaking of White River Gardens on the site of a surface parking lot. The project was the first major expansion since the opening of the Indianapolis Zoo at White River State Park in 1988. The $15 million design borrowed inspiration from Indiana's

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

landscape. White River Gardens opened to the public on June 13, 1999. Originally opened as a standalone attraction, admission and membership to the gardens were maintained separately from the neighboring Indianapolis Zoo. However, in 2007, the zoo introduced a streamlined fee structure that incorporated White River Gardens into the zoo's single-visit admission and annual membership rates. The gardens' Dick Crum Resource Center closed in 2010. Since September 2021, White River Gardens has been closed to allow for the construction of a new entry plaza to the zoo and gardens, scheduled for completion in spring 2023.

Features

Hilbert Conservatory

White River Gardens - 2009-05-31 - Quinn Dombrowski 10

Hilbert Conservatory was designed by Indianapolis architectural firm

Woollen, Molzan and Partners Woollen, Molzan and Partners (WMP) is a U.S.-based second-generation architecture, interior design, and planning firm that Evans Woollen III founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1955. The firm was previously known as Evans Woollen and Associates ...

. The glass-enclosed conservatory contains a ceiling and totals in size. Hilbert Conservatory hosts "Butterfly Kaleidoscope," an annual exhibit that features over 13,000 butterflies from over 40 different species found throughout the world.

Outdoor gardens

One of the missions of the garden is to provide inspiration and ideas to gardeners on how to design their own gardens through design and traditional methods. Indianapolis-based Rundell Ernstberger Associates served as the landscape architect for the project, designing the outdoor gardens. The Christel DeHaan Family Foundation Tiergarten contains nine themed gardens: *Allen W. Clowes Water Garden –

water garden Water garden or aquatic garden, is a term sometimes used for gardens, or parts of gardens, where any type of water feature is a principal or dominant element. The primary focus is on plants, but they will sometimes also house waterfowl, or orn ...

*Dan and Lori Efroymson Wedding Garden –

garden room In gardening, a garden room is a secluded and partly enclosed space within a garden that creates a room-like effect. Such spaces have been part of garden design for centuries. Generally they are regarded as different from terraces and patios just o ...

*Indianapolis Garden Club Heritage Garden *Indianapolis Zoological Guild Hedge Garden *Knot Garden –

knot garden A knot garden is a garden of formal design in a square frame, consisting of a variety of aromatic plants and culinary herbs including germander, marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, hyssop, costmary, acanthus, mallow, chamomile, rosemary ...

*Ornamental Allée *Polly Horton Hix Design Garden *Shade Garden –

shade garden Shade gardens are a type of garden planted and grown in areas with little or no direct sunlight. Shade gardens may occur naturally or by design under trees, as well as on the side of buildings or fences. This style of garden presents certain challe ...

*Sun Garden

Public art

Several pieces of art were commissioned as part of White River Gardens. Andrew Reid's ''Midwestern Panorama'', a cylindrical mural located inside the Bud Schaefer Rotunda, depicts native Indiana flora and fauna cycling through the four seasons.

Glass artist Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional artworks. The glass objects created are intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement. Though usage varies, the term is properly res ...

Dave McLary's ''Capital Campaign Donors Recognition Window'' consists of four -by- panels etched with springtime scenes emblematic of Indiana. Dale Enochs contributed several pieces, including seven water tables, 40 sculptural stones, and 100 individual limestone bricks. Enochs' ''Earth Stone'', a -tall limestone sculpture, serves as a focal point in the outdoor gardens. Sculptor Jan Martin produced 49 bronze

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

animals "to bring humor and whimsy to the Gardens". Martin also fabricated four -tall trellises and five -tall vining leaf sculptures of stainless steel. Amy Brier's interactive ''Spring'', ''Summer'', ''Fall'', and ''Winter'' are four individual limestone spheres situated in urns of sand atop pedestals. Each sphere's carvings depict native flora corresponding to its season.

References

External links

* {{Parks in Indianapolis Arboreta in Indiana

Botanical gardens in Indiana {{Commons category, Botanical gardens in Indiana Indiana Botanical gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word '' ...

Parks in Indianapolis White River State Park 1999 establishments in Indiana