Visiting Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

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Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is one of our favorite gardens in the nation. They are open all year long and have a gorgeous multi-room greenhouse, expansive outdoor gardens, and dozens of fascinating sculptures both indoors and out. Michigan’s most beautiful public garden is currently undergoing a large expansion to add even more green spaces and educational areas to the already sprawling garden complex. Explore all of the beauty of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, and see why we have been members for the past 5 years.

Visiting Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan Beautiful Gardens

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Name: Frederick Meijer Gardens
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Address: 1000 East Beltline Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Admission: $15 General Admission
Students & Seniors $11
Hours: 9am – 5pm daily
Parking: Free parking
Accessible: Yes

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park was one of the first places my husband took when we started dating, and I’ve loved it ever since. The greenhouse building has 6 different distinct gardens, an arid garden featuring desert plants, a seasonal display garden which changes based on the time of year, a Victorian Garden Parlor full of beautiful ornamental plants and Victorian style furniture, a carnivorous plant house, the outdoor shade garden, and the largest of the building’s gardens, the tropical conservatory. The tropical conservatory houses a waterfall visitors can walk behind, showy orchids, tropical birds, and from March 1st through April 30th, the tropical conservatory is home to hundreds of newly hatched butterflies.

My favorite garden is the 8 acre Japanese Garden, which is complete with a beautiful tea house, expansive walking paths, numerous stone lanterns imported from Japan, several waterfalls and wooden bridges, patches of water Lillies, and a stone garden. There are even several dozen bonsai trees on display in this garden. I will be creating a guide just to this beautiful section of Frederik Meijer Gardens, so keep an eye out for that in the coming weeks. I sincerely believe it to be one of the most beautiful places in Michigan, and the amount of planning, hard work, and admiration of Japanese culture and garden styles that went into the garden is simply magical. It’s a beautiful way to feel like we’re back in Japan!

There’s plenty to do at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park all year long, like concerts at the outdoor amphitheater in the spring and summer, promenading through the outdoor sculpture walk during the warmer months, enjoying local and international art installations during Art Prize, and partaking in educational events and workshops offered all year long.

As someone who has always struggled to stay positive during Michigan’s cold, dark, and icy winters that seeming last an eternity, my husband and I make the drive to the other side of the state about half a dozen times each winter just to spend the day here amongst the beautiful flowering plants, warm indoor gardens, colorful song birds, and ornamental greenery. I can honestly say that Frederik Meijer Gardens is one of the main reasons I can tolerate living in Michigan during the winter, and why I haven’t moved somewhere warmer. If you plan to visit the garden more than twice, a membership (only $30 per person) is well worth it, and helps to conserve these beautiful gardens.

If you’re in the Grand Rapids area, no matter the time of year, I can’t recommend visiting this beautiful garden enough!