The Milles Sculpture Garden consists of three large reflecting pools that span the Missouri Botanical Garden's central axis from the Spink Pavilion to the Climatron.  Built in 1913, the pools have been fully renovated and display seven works by the late Swedish sculptor Carl Milles. Bald cypress trees frame the majestic vista, further accented by seasonal borders including pansies, tulips and summer annual displays. The tropical water lilies and giant Victoria water lilies peak in August and September and have been a major Garden attraction since before the famed 1904 St.

Situated between the Lichtenstein Victorian District and the Japanese Garden, visitors step into a shaded patch of tranquility known as the Cherbonnier English Woodland Garden. Beneath a canopy of trees, more than 300 rhododendrons and azaleas and 100 dogwoods burst into bloom each spring, while clusters of wildflowers, hydrangeas and perennials provide surprising splashes of color against the background music of a babbling brook. The garden peaks around the second week of April, when the dogwoods, wildflowers and other spring blooms are out.

Take a walk with Deb Hollingsworth at the Missouri Botanical Garden on a cold blustery day, and you will quickly warm to her enthusiasm for the bare landscape. Hollingsworth, a member of the Garden’s Corporate Council, is quick to point out the stark beauty of the season. “I love how the ice and snow frame everything in a different way,” she says. “I think the trees are the most beautiful at this time of year because you see the structure and bark features.