Garfield Park Conservatory And Sunken Gardens in Indianapolis, Indiana

The Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Gardens is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a 10,000 square foot conservatory and outdoor three acre garden. Originally called Southern Park, the conservatory and park were founded in 1881, and named for US President James Garfield who had been assassinated. Additional lands were purchased in the early 1900's and increased the park size to 128 acres in total.

The statue overlooking the park is Major General Henry W. Lawton, not James Garfield. Major Lawton died in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, and the statue which was originally located in front of the Marion County Courthouse, was moved to the park grounds in 1915. The first conservatory was built in 1915; a new building was built in 1954 and is still in use today.

The park and conservatory features tree frogs, free-flying birds and tropical plants. An area of the park is dedicated to the Amazon River rainforest and has a large collection of orchids, bromeliads and other epiphytes, contained in a natural setting. The rainforest area contains waterfalls, stone walking paths, bonsai trees and other flowering plants.

The Garfield Park Conservatory is the most commonly visited area of the park. The conservatory is made up of 10,000 square feet and constructed of welded-aluminum and glass and was the first of this kind in America. Visitors are invited to tour the conservatory and inside, the main attraction is a fifteen foot tall granite waterfall and during the Christmas holidays, the Conservatory hosts an annual Poinsettia Show.

German-born landscape designer George E. Kessler designed the Sunken Gardens in 1916. The grounds are a European-style formal garden with three fountains, brick paths and benches. The gardens are replanted three times per year with seasonal flowers and plants, there used to be fish ponds but those have disappeared over time. In the summer time, there are concerts held on the grounds of the gardens, and a festival called,'' Music in the Garden''.

There are three memorials located within the grounds of the Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Gardens. The first is a granite shaft dedicated to the victims of the Camp Morton prison camp. The second lies in the Grove of Remembrance, which serves as a memorial to the fallen soldiers from Indiana who participated in World War I, trees were planted for each soldier and there are 387 in total. The final third memorial is dedicated to Major General Henry Lawton of Fort Wayne, Indiana, he fought in the Civil War and later went on to capture Geronimo.

The Garfield Park Conservatory and Sunken Gardens are open seven days per week and during normal business hours. The park and conservatory offer many topics of interest to both adults and children, and most tours last approximately an hour to hour and a half in length. A trip to the park will allow visitors to become better educated about the inner workings of Mother Nature and the delicate environment in which they live.