Since 1977, the Garden has proudly hosted the Japanese Festival, which now attracts around 50,000 people each Labor Day Weekend. It is widely considered one of the largest and oldest festivals of its kind in the United States.

    The festival results from prolific collaboration between the Missouri Botanical Garden and several Japanese-American organizations in St. Louis. This fruitful partnership provides an authentic experience highlighting Japanese music, art, dance, food and entertainment throughout the Garden.

Much like the cooler temperatures in May here in St. Louis, September is another great time of year to witness roses in bloom. The intensity and profuseness at which the roses bloom in September is akin to the floriferousness of the spring flush. Like most plants, there is a sweet moment in time when roses look and perform their best. The cooler temperatures that hint of a cold winter ahead and shortening of daylight initiates a response in roses similar to the warming and longer days in spring.

People of all ages can tickle their senses by visiting the Zimmerman Sensory Garden. This garden gives visitors an opportunity to draw on their senses. People enjoy smelling popular herbs like rosemary, lemon thyme and lavender. A whiff of the chocolate flower is sure to tempt any guest’s sweet tooth. The sounds of the Shell Fountain and the Solari bell will engage guests as they make their way through this garden.

The sacred lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, is a rhizomatous aquatic perennial native to the rivers and ponds of Asia and northern Australia. The plant’s life cycle is steeped in symbolism, as stalks and leaves ascend from muddy soil and still waters to form a large, beautiful blossom that opens as wide as 12 inches across. The Garden’s collection of Nelumbo nucifera includes “Empress,” “Alba Plena” and “Improved Egyptian Pink” in the Japanese Garden. The plants are planted in a large enclosed bed along the banks in the southeast corner of the lake.