On March 25, 2007, tabasco from Cincinnati (Anderson Twp), OH wrote:
Most people around here know of the Cincinnati Zoo as the place to go to see white tigers and black rhinos and other animals that have made our zoo one the the top zoos in the country, but few think of it as a botanical garden and horticultural mecca. The Zoo's origins go back to the Cincinnati Society of the Acclimatization of Birds (famous for the introduction of the Starling into our area) founded by Andrew Erkenbrecher, a local industrialist interested in conservation of avian species and who originally became concerned about the decimation of local green space by a pesky invasion of caterpillars.
Located on 66 acres in Avondale, the Zoo features some very old and picutresque animal houses retained from the Victorian age, more modern exhibits, and lots of green gardens and landscaping to feature jungle plantings, bird and butterfly gardens and victorian style bedding plant displays. In April the Zoo presents "Zoo Blooms", a display of hundreds of thousands of tulips, daffodils and 'little blue bulbs' for a festival of color to brighten early spring days.
Local garden clubs meet in the horticultural building. One day when I was there the African Violet Society was having their spring show. Another weekend the Cincinnati Daffodil Society was having a regional daffodil show.
If you go, go early to beat the crowds and get easy parking. The zoo gets crowded and the admission is quite expensive (I think) For those with children, a seasonal family pass may be the best bet. Also, I think Triple A offers a discount, so take your card along. I rated the Cincy Zoo 4 stars because of its history and noted breeding programs which I think is its main mission, but as far as horticultural interests, I think it lags behind other Zoological Gardens in customer appeal, and for that part of it I would give it 3 stars.
