Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Home of the world famous hippo Fiona. Family friendly Zoo committed to inspiring visitors with wildlife and saving species.

Native Plant Symposium

November 10, 2018
9am-5pm
Cost: $75

Purchase Tickets

Our 2018 Native Plant Symposium will be very exciting, with a truly inspired roster of speakers. The CZBG is proud to welcome retired Xavier Professor Dr. Stanley Hedeen and renowned Ohio naturalist Jim McCormac to the program. Kelly Norris has been blazing the horticultural lecture circuit and rapidly becoming a favorite. He will be joining us, along with Anna Brooks, a top landscape designer from SW Michigan. Brian Jorg from the CZBG will also speak. You will not want to miss this program!

2018 Speaker Bios

2018 Sponsors

Native Plant Sale

September 29
9:00am – 12:00pm
2210 N Mason Montgomery Rd

Adventure is blooming at the Cincinnati Zoo’s EcOhio Farm and Wetland! Join Zoo staff and EcOhio master gardeners for an adventurous day filled with native plants, pollinators and wetland perusing! Learn about the land’s history and take a piece of it home from the Native Plant Sale.

EcOhio houses a 24-acre reclaimed wetland, a 100-acre organic farm, and an abundance of wildlife. The wetland serves as a home or stopover point for hundreds of birds, and the 15 new beehives are home to thousands of honeybees that help pollinate the entire ecosystem!

wetlands1See the farm, hike the wetland, and learn about the Zoo’s future plans for this thriving oasis. Then, begin an oasis of your own! The plant sale events are listed below:

  • Native Plant Sale – Native plants, including ones found throughout the EcOhio ecosystem, will be for sale. Cash, check, and credit card are accepted.
  • Guided Hikes – Join Zoo Staff on a tour of the wetland. Because EcOhio does not have paved trails, come prepared with sturdy shoes, sunscreen, long pants, bug spray, and binoculars. The frequency of hiking tours will depend on guest interest and staff availability.
  • Native Animal Appearances – At 10 a.m., meet and greet with some of the wildlife that might call EcOhio home, such as the box turtle, black rat snake, and corn snake.
  • Pollen Nation – Learn about this brand new group and what they are doing to support pollinator conservation. Observe honeybees up close through an observation frame, and learn how these busy creatures keep us, and their hives, fed.

EcOhio is located at 2210 Mason-Montgomery Road, Lebanon, OH 45036. Please note that this is a working farm and ecosystem. Bathrooms may not be available.

General Events

Zoo Blooms

garden events 1The saturated colors and sun-catching glow of masses and masses of tulips in bloom is a truly spectacular experience. Zoo Blooms delivers not only the region’s largest tulip display, but also hundreds of trees and shrubs in full regalia. Magnolias, cherries, crabapples, serviceberries, viburnums, other bulbs, loads of perennials, and more all in their spring glory! Generally the best tulip display is around the middle of April, but the peak varies somewhat according to the weather. Each week all through spring the landscape continuously changes as the many plants of our extensive collection come into bloom. You need to visit several times to experience the fullness of the season!

Tunes and Blooms

garden events 5Every Thursday evening during April the Zoo hosts Tunes & Blooms. These are FREE concerts in the garden. Enjoy great local bands amongst gardens aglow with the blooms of 100,000 tulips and hundreds of other spring bloomers.

Tree Carnival

garden events 4A rising star in our line up of garden events, Tree Carnival is a fun and educational experience for the entire family. Kids can learn about trees, test their knowledge, earn their Tree Planting License, and take home a free tree! A party atmosphere. There’s even the famous Mr. Tree to hug!

Plant Sales

plantsale2We continually propagate many plants for our own use. Many are rare and unique plants that unavailable or hard to find on the market. Occasionally we hold plant sales and many gems can be purchased. For more information, email [email protected].

Tours

garden2Schedule your own garden event at the zoo! Industry groups, Master Gardener groups, garden clubs, plant societies, private companies, families, and others frequently schedule their own garden tours and/or parties. You can too! Email us at [email protected] to schedule a tour.

Native Plant Symposium

garden events 3The annual all day symposium about native plants. Great outside speakers along with the zoo’s Native Plant Program Manager, Brian Jorg.  CEUs available. Affordably priced. Includes lunch.

Plant Trials Day

annnualsThe Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden horticultural staff and volunteers, in conjunction with several other organizations, conducts plant trials on annuals, grasses, and perennials in accordance with regimented protocols. Such trials enable us to develop useful data for gardeners, other public gardens, plant producers, and others in the green community. For more information regarding our Plant Trials programs, please contact us at [email protected].

Sustainable Landscapes Day

gogreenThe concepts of “going green” have come down on the green and building industries in a big way in recent years and a lot of argument over the meaning of sustainability and the means of achieving it has ensued. This program is designed to sort out fact from fiction regarding such issues as soils, irrigation, and the very best low input plants for landscape applications. CEUs available. Affordably priced. Includes lunch.

Home Landscapes Lecture Series

flowerA late winter ten week series of lectures regarding all aspects of landscaping for the homeowner by one of the region’s top horticulturists and the zoo’s Director of Horticulture, Steve Foltz. If you are planning on garden renovation or a new installation in your landscape these classes provide great insight on design, preparation and plant selection with emphasis on plants that do best in the Tri-state area. A different aspect of landscaping is covered each week such as perennial design and tree care, but one way or another everything is covered! Sign up for individual classes, or for the entire series and save! Very affordably priced.

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