Wichita garden among most beautiful in US. HGTV says ‘prairie meets precision’ here
A popular Wichita garden was recently named the most beautiful in Kansas by home improvement network HGTV.
In its August writeup of the most beautiful gardens in every state, HGTV selected Wichita’s Botanica, The Wichita Gardens as Kansas’ top spot.
“Prairie meets precision in these 18 acres of botanical diversity,” Alexis Benveniste writes for HGTV of Botanica.
The garden, located at 701 N. Amidon St., is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In autumn, it boasts of more than 5,500 chrysanthemums, as well as trees and shrubs full of fall color. In the winter, visitors can see 12,000 pansies in bloom along with berried hollies, witch hazel and red-twig dogwood.
In the spring, Botanica hosts its tulip festival, where visitors can see more than 50,000 bulbs in bloom while enjoying live entertainment and food trucks.
General admission to the gardens is $12 for adults and $10 for children, seniors and military members. Anyone 2 years and under can enter for free. Membership prices vary from $55 to $1,000 and can be purchased online.
“We’re honored that HGTV has named Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, as Kansas’ most beautiful garden in their feature highlighting the top garden in every state,” Botanica shared in a Facebook post in September. “Botanica is more than just a destination. It’s a place where nature and art come together to inspire creativity, spark joy, and bring our community closer.”
One of Botanica’s most popular attractions begins this month. Illuminations, a holiday light show that was named the fifth best of its kind last year by USAToday, begins Saturday, Nov. 22 and runs through Saturday, Jan. 3. The light show has once again been nominated by the publication for the same recognition this year, and you can vote until Monday, Dec. 1 on USAToday’s website.
Tickets for Illuminations are on sale now for $19 for nonmember adults and $15 for members. Ages 3 to 12 are $12, and anyone 2 years old and younger is free. There are nightly time slots at 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., and the attraction is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Botanica first opened in May 1987.
