Gardens & Arboretums

Rochester became a global center for flower and tree nurseries in the mid-1800s, fostering our identity as The Flower City. George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry led the way, issuing their first nursery catalog in 1843 and eventually selling fruit trees, ornamentals, flowers, and greenhouse plants worldwide. In 1888, they donated some of their land and trees to Rochester to establish the city’s first public green space, Highland Park.

Rochester, Louisville, Boston, and Buffalo are the only four U.S. cities with complete park systems designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. Admire his planned landscapes in Highland, Genesee Valley, Maplewood, and Seneca Parks.

Rochester’s horticultural legacy lives on in its public parks, arboretums, conservatories, cemeteries, and private estates. Together, these landscapes feature everything from historic tree collections and formal gardens to native plantings and seasonal floral displays.

City of Rochester

Highland Park

Highland Park was the first park established in Rochester’s Olmsted-designed park system in 1888. Home to Rochester’s annual Lilac Festival, Highland Park contains the largest collection of lilacs in North America, with over 500 varieties represented by approximately 1,200 shrubs. The park also contains extensive collections of Japanese maples, magnolias, rhododendrons, and conifers. Follow paved and mown-grass pathways to Lamberton Conservatory, the Poet’s Garden, Highland Bowl, and Warner Castle’s Sunken Garden.

Highland Park’s Lamberton Conservatory

Highland Park’s Lamberton Conservatory is housed in a Lord & Burnham-designed glass greenhouse featuring exotic, desert, and economic plants. Turtles lounge beside indoor ponds while tiny button quail and tortoises wander throughout the conservatory. The Seasonal Display Room changes themes five times each year, including the popular Holiday Show in December, when Friday and Sunday evening hours offer a chance to enjoy the seasonal light displays.

Highland Park’s Warner Castle Estate and Sunken Garden

Highland Park’s Warner Castle Estate and Sunken Garden was incorporated in 1951 when Monroe County Parks purchased the castle and grounds. The 1854 Gothic-style castle is now the headquarters of the Landmark Society of Western New York. Landscape architect Alling S. DeForest, who also designed several gardens at the Eastman estate, created the sunken garden in 1930. The garden is a popular backdrop for wedding, family, and nature photography, particularly on weekends. Visiting during quieter times can make it easier to enjoy the garden and take your own photos.

Mount Hope Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery, established in 1838, is a Victorian garden cemetery and arboretum with a diverse collection of trees that make autumn an especially colorful time to visit. Walkers, runners, and bicyclists use the well-maintained roadways throughout the year. While much of the cemetery can be explored by car, the older north section’s winding cobblestone roads and historic landscape are best experienced on foot. Maps and guided tours provide additional insight into the cemetery’s history, ecology, and geology, including its glacial landforms and fossils. There are several entrances, including the main south entrance and a north gatehouse entrance.

Ellwanger Garden

Ellwanger Garden is a half-acre secret garden on Mount Hope Avenue maintained by the Landmark Society of Western New York at the former home of renowned horticulturist George Ellwanger. The estate now operates as a bed-and-breakfast, and the garden opens to the public during special events such as Lilac Weekends in May and Peony Weekend in June.

George Eastman Museum

George Eastman Museum, part of the East Avenue Historic District, offers seasonal color from purple wisteria in May to yellow ginkgo leaves in November. While museum admission is required to explore the Italianate Terrace and Library Gardens, the West and Rock Gardens are open to the public year-round. Every February, the annual Dutch Connection event showcases tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other spring bulbs throughout the mansion.

The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play features seasonal gardens surrounding the museum and a playful landscape installation in the middle of Chestnut Street, both free to explore. Inside, the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden provides a tropical garden experience and is the area’s only indoor butterfly garden open year-round.

Durand Eastman Arboretum

Durand Eastman Park Arboretum features diverse collections of trees and shrubs throughout Pine Valley, Rhododendron Valley, Fruit Valley, and Katsura Glen. The 977-acre park also includes Durand Lake, Eastman Lake, and a swimming beach on Lake Ontario.

Maplewood Rose Garden

Maplewood Park showcases a one-acre rose garden with over 250 cultivars that bloom from early June until nearly Thanksgiving. The Greater Rochester Rose Society has maintained the garden since its dedication in 1951.

High Falls FlourGarden

High Falls FlourGarden occupies the site where Matthew and Francis Brown harnessed the Genesee River through a hydropower raceway in 1817, helping establish Rochester as a major flour-milling center. Today, Greentopia’s 300-foot sustainable garden incorporates native plants and water elements that demonstrate environmentally responsible landscaping practices.

Monroe County

Genesee Country Village & Museum

Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford features twelve heirloom kitchen gardens and orchards throughout the historic village, illustrating the plants commonly grown in 19th-century New York. Visitors can learn about the medicinal herbs and regional produce grown before modern medicine and refrigeration.

Webster Arboretum

Webster Arboretum spans 32 acres and is maintained by local garden clubs. Winding paths lead past a pond, diverse collections of trees and shrubs, and formal gardens featuring more than 200 daylily cultivars.

Greater Rochester

Sonnenberg Gardens

Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park in Canandaigua preserves a 50-acre late 19th-century estate featuring a Queen Anne-style mansion, a Lord & Burnham-designed glass conservatory, and nine formal gardens, including the Italian Garden, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, and Old-Fashioned Garden.

Linwood Gardens

Linwood Gardens is a private estate known for its tree peony collection and annual Tree Peony Festival of Flowers, held over several weekends from late May to early June. Guided tours of the home and gardens are led by descendants of the original family, who share personal stories and the estate’s horticultural history.

Geneva on the Lake

Geneva on the Lake is a 1910 Italianate villa surrounded by formal hedged gardens, marble statues, and a pool overlooking Seneca Lake. Whether dining or spending the night, guests are welcome to stroll through the formal gardens, where clipped hedges frame colorful flower beds and lake views.

Surrounding Counties

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens in Lackawanna feature a Lord & Burnham-designed tri-domed glass conservatory set within South Park, part of Buffalo’s Olmsted park system. Open year-round, the conservatory showcases tropical and desert plants alongside seasonal displays.

Delaware Park Japanese Garden

Delaware Park Japanese Garden is tucked along the shore of Mirror Lake behind the Buffalo History Museum. Stone lanterns, three small islands, and more than 1,000 plantings create a peaceful landscape within the 350-acre Olmsted-designed park. Every spring, the garden hosts the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival and is especially colorful in early November when the Japanese maples reach peak color.

Cornell Botanic Gardens

Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca encompasses 4,000 acres managed by Cornell University, including the Nevin Welcome Center, F.R. Newman Arboretum, and a collection of themed gardens. Winding paths and footbridges lead to views of Fall Creek and Beebe Lake.

Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Garden

Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Garden in Ithaca is a Japanese-inspired stone-and-moss garden located beside the I. M. Pei-designed Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell University campus.

Sycamore Hill Gardens

Sycamore Hill Gardens in Marcellus features Asian and European statues, koi ponds, stonework, a formal garden, a hedge maze, and sweeping views of the surrounding countryside. The privately owned gardens are maintained by the Hanford family. Admission covers one passenger vehicle with up to eight occupants.

Enjoy an Honorary International Peace Garden close to home at Rochester’s Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse, on West Main Street in Batavia, and on the grounds of the Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society.

Where are your favorite public gardens around Rochester?

I’d love to hear from you—please reach out and share your thoughts and experiences.