Kansas City Rose & Flower Gardens

Kansas City might be known for its barbecue, fountains and jazz music, but there’s something else this great metropolitan area boasts – gardens. In fact, lots of them! Kansas City’s most certainly an “urbanized” area, but a love of the great outdoors has not been lost, as evidenced by the host of gardens open to the public for enjoyment.

We’ll look at a sampling of some of the bigger gardens within the metro area, but remember, when the weather’s right, you’re likely to see blooms popping up all over the Kansas City area!

Unity Village
Calling Unity Village a garden is like saying the “Mona Lisa” is just another painting. The village is located about 20 miles southeast of Kansas City on 350 Highway and Colbern Road.
Visitors here will find 1,400 acres that include a rose garden, fountains, two meditation gardens, woodlands, walking paths and ponds and even a chapel with bells that chime hourly and also plays songs several times a day.
The Unity Rose Garden is a treasure for the eyes. It features more than 800 rose bushes, many award winning, with more than 40 different varieties of the flowers. The chapel itself is non-denominational and open for visitors.

Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens
This treasure is found at 179th Street, about a half mile west of U.S. 69, in Overland Park, Kansas. The 300-acre park was opened in 1900 and to this day puts an emphasis on the eight natural habitats that surround its trails. The shining star within this park is the Erickson Water Garden that features four waterfalls and a bog that has lots of plantings that attract birds and butterflies. The park also features a children’s area, a maze and more.

Powell Gardens
This nonprofit botanical garden can be found about 30 miles east of Kansas City on U.S. 50. It boasts 835 acres of rolling hills with gardens, native grasses, trails and lots and lots of wild flowers.
Powell Gardens’ perennial garden is considered the largest in the Midwest, offering more than 5,000 plants for visitors’ eyes to take in. There’s also a Rock and Water Fall garden, a Meadow Pavilion and more. Plus, there’s architecture by Fay Jones to marvel at and a chapel that’s open for visitors and weddings.

Linda Hall Library
This urban arboretum can be found at 5109 Cherry Street in Kansas City, Mo. It’s more than 50 years old and features 14 acres of greenery with one of the biggest collections of peonies in the Midwest. The garden also features lots of butterfly-attracting plans, including zinnias, Shasta daisies, fennel, Mexican sunflowers and more. There are more than 450 trees here, representing some 160 varieties!

Helen Cuddy Memorial Rose Garden
This celebration of roses is located at 6501 Antioch in Shawnee, Kansas. It is found within 44-acre Antioch Park and includes more than 625 rose bushes, a fountain, an Iris garden and more.

Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead
This park, named after a fallen police officer, does provide lots of children’s activities as the name suggests, but it also boasts gardens, grasses and lots of lots of flowers maintained by the Johnson County Extension Service’s master gardeners. There’s a vegetable garden, butterfly garden and house, flowers and more. It can be found at 13800 Switzer Road in Overland Park.

Kansas City might be a metro area, but don’t let that fool you. There are lots of outdoor wonders to behold here, and in the spring and summer, you’re sure to find the outdoors is the place to be with so many breathtaking gardens to explore. Remember, the above is just a sample of the many maintained gardens within the area.