Hauck Botanic Gardens

The Hauck Botanic Garden is a 10-acre public park I the heart of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was established a century ago as the private horticultural collection of Cincinnati philanthropist, Cornelius J. Hauck. Hauck wanted to encourage urban greenspaces in America’s increasingly polluted cities. He gifted his estate to the Civic Garden Center and the Cincinnati Parks Department. Today, the garden honors his legacy with its heritage collection of rare and exotic ornamentals and an ever-growing showcase of plants native to the Midwest.

Some of the Hauck Botanic Garden’s most noteworthy specimens include rare Lady’s Slipper Orchids and a 75-year-old hybrid Lea’s Oak. Groves of Eastern Redbud and Flowering Dogwood welcome spring while White Trillium and other spring ephemerals bloom in the shade of a sprawling Cucumber Magnolia. Other species to mention are the two mature female Ginkgo standing at the Oak Street entrance, the 75-year-old Bottlebrush Buckeye colony, a towering Dawn Redwood, weeping Ryusen Japanese Maple, and Variegated Wayfaring Tree.

The gardens continue to evolve as generations of volunteers and horticulturalists make their mark on this historic space. The newest garden installation, a Native Food Forest, features edible native trees and shrubs such as Gooseberry, Elderberry, American Persimmon, and a hybrid Hican.

The plant collections at the Hauck Botanic Garden are managed by the Civic Garden Center, a non-profit organization founded during the Victory Garden movement. The CGC mission is building community through gardening, education, and environmental stewardship. Their programming reflects that, with a network of volunteers, community gardens, conservation projects, and educational outreach. The CGC is committed to carrying on the work of Cornelius J. Hauck, promoting environmental and social responsibility and connecting the people of Cincinnati through a love of gardening.