Great Parks is looking to grow a love for music alongside flowers and shrubs in the new Music Garden at Glenwood Gardens. A ribbon cutting and community celebration were held Thursday.
The interactive, outdoor space in the Highfield Discovery Garden includes all-weather instruments and musically-themed plantings. A walkway shaped like a treble clef winds through the garden, leading past bells, chimes, drums and other instruments. A small stage is topped with musical notes from “You Are My Sunshine.”
The plantings themselves provide a bit of whimsy for those who know their names: lyrical blues meadow sage, fiddlehead fern, and spring symphony foam flower, to name a few.
Kayla Geisen of West Chester says she and her kids visit Glenwood Gardens almost every day. They've been keeping an eye on the garden's construction and are excited to see it finally open.
"The kids loved playing with the drums and the xylophone, (it's) just really fun for them," she says. "This is just an amazing expansion of what they've already been doing here."
Great Parks aims to use the space for play and for programs. It's the eighth themed garden at Highfield Discovery Garden, and was inspired by a former parks employee.
"The garden recalls the memory of Becky Reed, a naturalist who worked at Glenwood Gardens for many years and had the vision to add a music garden to Highfield Discovery Garden. Her vision was expanded with specific ideas by colleagues after her passing," according to a release.
The parks district says 70% of the $390,000 price tag came from grants and donations, including a $150,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' NatureWorks program. Admission for the Highfield Discovery Garden is $6 per person.
