Two decades of Highfield Discovery Garden is music to our ears! Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beautiful spot by visiting its new music-themed project that allows guests of all ages to explore a love for nature and art.
Find the Music Garden in the 12-acre Highfield Discovery Garden in Great Parks' Glenwood Gardens, just down I-75 in Woodlawn. It features a 140-square-foot outdoor stage surrounded by five music stations that allow visitors to play various drums, chimes and bells. Glenwood Gardens’ new music garden encourages visitors to explore the intersection of nature and music. Even the garden's layout incorporates musical elements, as an accessible path that runs through the garden is shaped like a treble clef.
Doug Stevenson, Highfield Discovery garden manager, says the project took around six years to complete. The music garden was built in honor of Becky Reed, a former naturalist for Glenwood Gardens who lost her battle to cancer in 2017. Reed, who was Stevenson’s supervisor, was working on early concepts for the garden before her death.
“It was an honor to get to work with her while she was still with us and share her vision and kind of get that project started,” Stevenson says. “The original concept was much smaller, but then we said ‘Hey, we want this to be permanent and really honor her vision.’”
The garden was funded by a $150,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as well as other private grants and donations. Stevenson says various music and student groups have performed at the garden since it opened.
“It continues every day to bring me great joy and excitement just to see how the space is being used and to think about how it can be used in the future,” Stevenson says. “It just is a very, very special space to me and to Becky.”
In addition to the Music Garden, residents can also visit seven other themed gardens that encourage people to explore nature. These areas include a butterfly garden, vegetable garden and fairytale themed-garden, all centered around a 25-foot discovery tree.
Stevenson says the music garden—and all options in the Highfield Discovery Garden—“truly are for all ages.” In addition to programs and performances aimed toward younger audiences, Glenwood Gardens gives tours to adult groups and older students.
“You don’t have to be a serious musician to just create music and enjoy it,” Stevenson says. “To not be so concerned about time signatures, just to play and interact with your environment and experience life–I think it’s great for all ages really.”
Great Parks decided to open the Highfield Discovery Garden in 2004 to introduce people of all ages, but especially children, to gardening and nature.
“I think that’s the beauty of Highfield because it’s so whimsical and we really do encourage imagination,” Stevenson says. “For very young children that may not understand some of the scientific concepts or some of the more traditional programming, this is a really fun way to introduce kids to nature and gardening in a way that they may not even realize. That appreciation will stay with them as they get older.”
The cost of admission to the Highfield Discovery Garden is $6 per person, but free for visitors under age two. Glenwood Gardens also offers an annual family pass for $60, allowing four people unlimited visits for a year—with the option of a $9 add-on for more people. Visitors are required to have a valid motor vehicle permit to park their vehicle at any of the Great Parks. The parking fee for residents outside of Hamilton County is $16 annually or $8 daily.
Find details about upcoming events at the Highfield Discovery Garden at the Great Park’s online calendar. Annual passholders receive a monthly newsletter that lists happenings at Glenwood Gardens and Highfield Discovery Garden.
Highfield Discovery Garden | GreatParks.org, 513.771.8733
10397 Springfield Pike, Cincinnati
“You don’t have to be a serious musician to just create music and enjoy it,” Stevenson says.