Our Gardens

Asian Waterfall Garden

The Zoo’s horticulture team has designed and planted one of the most unique gardens in the Midwest. The beauty begins as visitors enter Elephant Trek through the Komminsk Family Asian Waterfall Garden and continues throughout. The idea was to create a forested habitat that followed the streams to the open grasslands where the elephants would be grazing by the watering hole. As you enter the space you feel a heavy presence of tropical plants including large elephant ears, tropical bananas and Chinese Fan Palms which are native to Southeast Asia. 

Dinosaur Garden

Located next to the Reptile House, this garden features ferns and conifers. See if you can spot the petrified log!

Native Plants Garden

This garden, located near the Passenger Pigeon Memorial contains many interesting native plants, many of which would have been favorite food sources for passenger pigeons. From early spring ephemerals to trees such as the bigleaf magnolias (Magnolia macrophylla), you can see and enjoy a smattering of native plants in a naturalistic garden.

Many of the plants are host plants for butterflies and moths. You might notice a colony of pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba), which is one of just a few host plants for the Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus), and spicebush (Lindera benzoin), which hosts the Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio Troilus).

World of the Insect Garden

This new garden was planted in 2021. It is on the bank immediately to the right of World of Insects. Filled with a wide array of blooming plants, it is a continuation of the nearby Butterfly and Pollinator gardens.

Endangered Species Garden

The Plant Division of the Center for Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) conducts research dedicated to propagating and preserving endangered plants. The Endangered Species Propagation Program uses tissue culture to grow rare species which have challenged traditional methods of propagation. In 2005, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden became a member of the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC). By partnering with the Center for Plant Conservation and botanical gardens around the country, CREW is applying these techniques to make plants available for research and reintroduction.
The horticulture Department via the Native Plant Program works closely with CREW, often growing plants in our nursery to use in our gardens and to plant back into the wild.

Education Rain Garden

Located outside of the Harold C. Schott Education Building is one of the area’s biggest and best rain gardens. Containing a tremendous diversity of mostly native plants, this garden provides continuous beauty while also attracting insects, birds, and other wildlife.

If you look closely, you’ll spot three shallow basins within the garden. All of the rain that falls on the Education building’s roof, much of the parking lot, and the garden itself is directed into these three depressions. The water then percolates into the soil rather than emptying into Cincinnati’s combined sewage system, which overflows untreated into the Ohio River during heavier rain events.

Bamboo Groves

You’ll notice a lot of bamboo growing at the Zoo. While bamboo is not a plant for home landscapes because of its aggressive spreading, it is—if sited correctly and contained—a great plant for the Zoo. Not only does it provide geographically appropriate ambiance to Asian and African exhibits, but it is also terrific at screening buildings and service areas, which helps create a better visitor experience. But even more than that, bamboo is a favorite food for many of our animals and, with guidance, our keepers often cut shoots as special treats.