I grew up in one of those neighborhoods, and have watched the Toledo Botanical Garden grow and evolve, from a neighborhood garden park to an elegant series of gardens, sculptures and ponds. The park also hosts twenty local botanical societies and artist guilds, most offer classes, open meetings or regular tours.

The Toledo Botanical Garden is a living museum of plants of all kinds. Instead of one giant 60-acre garden, the park is a series of smaller themed gardens and ponds broken up by grassy lawns. The five-acre shade garden is the oldest garden in the park, planted under an isolated remnant of the Oak Openings Region, the distinct and unique native ecosystem of the region.

My favorite garden is the herb garden, it’s fairly small and off in the northeast corner, but I love the sound of the water bubbling out of the granite fountain surrounded by a series of traditional herb gardens. There is something refreshing about a practical garden that is also beautiful. Other gardens include a rose garden, the pioneer garden, vegetable garden and the perennial garden, all them are beautiful and worth visiting several times.

The Toledo Botanical Garden hosts the annual Crosby Festival of the Arts, held the last weekend in June. A juried art show that attracts artists from around the country, if you love art of all kinds the Crosby Festival of the Arts is a can’t miss event. Native Advice for Out-of-Towners: It never fails to be hot and muggy at the end of June. It’s an out door event, wear comfortable clothes, walking shoes and bring water.

Other regular events include spring and fall plant sales, Jazz in the Garden concerts on Thursdays in the summer. The Toledo Botanical Gardens also has facility rental available for weddings, conferences and luncheons, see the Toledo Botanical Garden (www.toledogarden.org) website for details.