Horticulture at the CGC

What is horticulture? Horticulture is the art and science of growing plants, and it’s at the heart of everything we do at the Civic Garden Center. We've seen, time and again, that gardens and public greenspace lead to healthier people and more resilient communities. 

Our urban location, just minutes from downtown Cincinnati, has inspired our horticultural program to focus on growing plants in difficult places. And our recognition of the climate crisis and human’s role in biodiversity loss has inspired us to plant and promote native plants wherever we can.

Since our founding in 1942 during the Victory Garden movement, we’ve been teaching people how to propagate, grow and care for plants of all kinds in every situation. And now we’re teaching people about the ecological role that plants play and the powerful impact they can have on the world around them. 

Our Grounds

On our grounds, Hauck Botanic Gardens, you'll find a wide variety of horticultural features, including: 

  • A production vegetable garden 

  • A diverse collection of mature trees 

  • Green infrastructure installations 

  • A permaculture food forest 

  • A variety of themed native plant gardens 

We use the park to educate students, volunteers and community members on a wide range of environmental and gardening topics, such as: 

  • Edible gardening 

  • Gardening with native plants 

  • Pollinator relationships 

  • Forest and prairie restoration 

  • Managing rain gardens and green roofs 

Come visit!

You can:

Horticulture in the Community 

Our vision of a sustainable future for all means that we just can’t keep the benefits of native plants to ourselves! According to the National Institute of Health, “Urban green spaces provide environmental benefits through their effects on negating urban heat, offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, and attenuating storm water. They also have direct health benefits by providing urban residents spaces for physical activity and social interaction and allowing psychological restoration to take place.” Through programs like Treeforestation and Pollinator Garden Partnerships, we’re bringing ecological gardening practices to the neighborhoods that need them most.  

Horticulture at Home 

Interested in growing native plants in your yard? We can help! Check back soon to browse our Plant Collections for inspiration or read up on planting and maintenance tips. We’ll add more resources as we create them.