Diverse gardens and facilities at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens offer something for visitors of all ages and interests. During your visit explore the garden’s living plant collection housed throughout its greenhouses of botanical beauty.
Indoor Botanical Gardens
Indoor botanical gardens are housed across 12 greenhouses. Standing tall is Palm Dome, the home to palms and tropical fruit trees. In Palm Dome visitors can journey the world with stops at various locales to see plant collections found along the Buffalo Meridian, a line circumnavigating the globe and connecting visitors to other people, places and planets. In the Florida Everglades, discover different habitats, a self-sustaining vivarium, plants and animal species and learn about the importance of maintaining wetlands. Experience the way epiphytes would live 200' above the rainforest floor in the Panama Cloude Forest & Epiphyte Pavilion. In the Special Event House visitors can marvel at draped ivy and a collection of tropical plants. In addition to the largest public ivy collection in the world, the Victorian Ivy & Herb House is also home to unique water features, a vine covered gazebo and grotto. Marvel at a unique variety of exotic orchids including both common and unusual species in the Orchid House. In the Begonia House you can study the colorful and unusually textured leaves of begonia. Wander the Tropical House to see the Bonsai Collection, the Carnivorous Plant Collection, the Medicinal Garden and the Sensitive Plant. Also featured in the Tropical House is a variety of flowering houseplants. In the Desert House, you’ll discover giant cacti and agave plants, varieties of lithops and a unique collection of succulents from South Africa. At the center of the Fern & Ancient Rainforest is a 30' waterfall surrounded by banana trees. Discover aquatic plants and koi fish of all sizes in the pond beneath the waterfall. Dinosaur topiaries scavenge among ferns and cycads.
Outdoor Gardens
In addition to Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Garden’s greenhouses, outside you will find the Front Entrance Garden, the Rose Garden, the Shrub/Perennial Peace Garden and the Children’s Garden. When you arrive to the botanical gardens, you will be greeted by the seasonal combinations of thousands of spring bulbs, annuals and tropical plants in the Front Entrance Garden. Take in the sweet fragrance of rich and beautiful roses from June through October in the Rose Garden. Between March and October rare and unusual perennials, annuals, shrubs and trees abound in the Shrub/Perennial Peace Garden. Designed as a Peace Garden it is the perfect place for relaxation and mediation. The Children’s Garden is designed to stimulate the senses regardless of one’s age. From late May through October fragrant herbs, a colorful butterfly garden and cascading water features highlight the Children’s Garden.
The Arcangel Gallery
Donated by Wayne D. and Corrine Arcangel in honor of their son, the Arcangel Gallery features photography and artwork reflective of the Botanical Gardens, its horticulture residents, nature, Western New York Life and Buffalo architecture. Appreciate art in the tranquil setting of the gallery that provides a peaceful calmness in the beauty that surrounds it.
In the Botanical Gardens Gift Shop you will discover a unique line of honey and maple syrup for sale. Made locally in Western New York, the award-winning honey is made mainly of goldenrod, wild aster nectar, and pollen. Western New York Maple Syrup offers a fresh and authentic taste. Purchase Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Garden’s honey or maple syrup and try it in your coffee or tea, on pancakes, in oatmeal, or in your baking.
Travel Tips
- Do not forget your camera. There will be exciting photo opportunities during your visit to the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.
- Free wheelchairs are available on a first come first serve basis.