Waterfront Botanical Gardens — Attraction in Louisville

Beautiful place to visit. Not exactly what I thought it would be but a good work in progress. They are planning the expansion. Lots of beautiful flowers that you could actually go to the store and purchase for your own flower garden. The creek walking path was very nice. Some pretty plum trees and interesting trees I wasn't familiar with. We did notice several trees were turning brown. After looking them up on google, found out that it isn't normal and usually means they are dying. 😳 We happened to go on a weekend where they had an indoor bonsai exhibit, and we were super excited about that. They had some very beautiful bonsai trees to showcase. The oldest one was 120 years old. There were some very beautiful bonsai trees which were azalea trees. I learned all kinds of information from the bonsai owners that were present showing their hard work they've done with their trees. Some of the bonsai tree trunks were very cool and intertwined. I learned about the hard and timely work that it takes to get the trucks a special way. Overall, it was a good Saturday outing. It was very busy because there was a tour bus of people also visiting. I'd love to return when it isn't so busy and there is more completed to see. We were there for approximately a couple of hours. Parking was easy and close. It is a gravel parking lot. There are handicap parking spots. The bathrooms were nice and clean. Lots of smell good flowers. One plant even smelled like chocolate. It...

So, I love the gardens, but I need to share my experience with an employee there. I’ve been several times with my kids and have made multiple donations. I even spent $250 on a donation to get a personalized brick for my mother as a Christmas gift. We went today to see the brick for the first time. We walked in a were greeted by an employee. She began telling us about the phases when my daughter walked behind me and onto another section of concrete behind a bench. This lady immediately YELLED at my 10 year old daughter and said “get off the mulch!” in a mean voice. I was shocked and said “she didn’t walk on the mulch. I saw her step on the concrete.” We always follow the rules and respect the plants, so I feel that my kids and I deserve the same respect back from employees. After I told the lady my daughter wasn’t on the mulch, she appeared embarrassed and said “sorry” and began trying to justify her actions by saying other people do step on the mulch and they deal with it a lot. Okay, I know that must be frustrating but if your immediate reaction is to yell at a child who isn’t even on the mulch or breaking rules, you should not be working this job that interacts with the public. It upset my daughter and upset my mother and I. I will continue to visit the gardens WITH my children but I truly hope I don’t interact with this...

Our wedding day was a dream at the Waterfront Botanical Gardens! I could not be happier with choosing Waterfront Botanical Gardens for my wedding this October, and the amazing staff/team that helped bring this day to life! We had a beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony, followed by a reception inside the education building and a cocktail hour by the fountain. It was the ideal size and layout for our around 90-100 guests. Special shoutout to Abigail and Jen for making this planning process so smooth! They were incredible from start to finish and were extremely friendly and quick to respond. Living in Louisville, I just knew this place would be perfect to showcase our city and this beautiful garden! Not to mention all the amazing events WBG host throughout the year and things they do for our community. I am SO excited to watch this place grow and develop in the coming years!! Definitely recommend this place for a wedding...