Restoring Hauck Botanical Gardens – Collaboration with Civic Garden Center

  • Jul 1, 2020

Hauck Botanical Gardens is the former 8-acre estate of the late Cornelius J. Hauck, a horticulturist and 18-year Cincinnati Park Board member. He willed the property to the city of Cincinnati and it has been a Cincinnati Park ever since. 2 of the 8 acres are maintained by the Civic Garden Center and are used as an educational and green (eco-friendly) park for the public.

Due to lack of funds, many areas of the gardens have not been properly maintained over the years. Late last year, the Cincinnati Park Board approved a $120,000 project to collaborate with the Civic Garden Center to return the area to a beautifully maintained, natural attraction for the public to enjoy.

The project will continue the educational and green theme throughout the park through a series of trails and themed gardens. This will provide an opportunity for education, beauty and enhanced green maintenance practices.

Some key priorities are to:

  1. Remove dead and hazardous trees and prune/deadwood trees.
  2. Improve landscaping by clearing out vines and weeds, establishing garden bed space and planting themed beds with shrubs and perennials.
  3. Improve the landscape on the entire slope in front of the Hauck House by removing unwanted, invasive vegetation.
  4. Improve the landscape at the North West corner of the T intersection including removal of vegetation and re-landscaping the area.

The goal of the project is to create a much improved, natural botanical garden requiring no, or very limited, use of pesticides or herbicides as part of the annual maintenance.

The Park Board is thrilled to collaborate with the Civic Garden Center and the community to restore such a wonderful, historical space back into a natural, beautiful environment and all of the educational and natural benefits this will facilitate.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, watch this space for project updates.

Please feel free to reach cincy.parks@cincinnati-oh.gov with any feedback or questions about the project.