Gardens

Calder Gardens is a living, dynamic landscape shaped by thoughtful planting design and sustainable care. Embracing the full cycle of a plant’s life—from vibrant bloom to sculptural seed head—it offers an immersive urban refuge where the choreography of growth and decay invites pause amid the city's momentum. 

For the landscape at Calder Gardens, garden designer Piet Oudolf created seven distinct areas accessible from entrances on 21st and 22nd Streets. Visitors first encounter the West Woodland Garden or Robust Border, which bookend the space. Moving toward the center, visitors discover the East and West Perennial Meadows, Prairie Matrix, and sloped Vestige Garden, before arriving at the Circle Entrance Garden leading to the front doors. Lastly, a circular void in the landscape frames the Sunken Garden, which is accessed through the lower level of the building.

The gardens are home to 37,000 perennials made up of over 195 varieties, in addition to the over 50 varieties of trees and shrubs and more than 15 varieties of climbers. Gardeners are encouraged to wait until spring before cutting back the perennials as they are essential in supporting pollinators and wildlife.

The complex planting palette creates the following garden areas throughout the site. Download a map of the garden.

Located at the North 22nd Street entrance, this area features an overstory created by the foliage of swamp white oaks (Quercus bicolor), black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Small trees and shrubs such as flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), and common witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) provide a diverse understory, while perennial plants, including Autumn Bride coral bells (Heuchera ‘Autumn Bride’), skullcap (Scutellaria incana), and Delft Lace astilbe (Astillbe ‘Delft Lace’) are destined to evolve over time.

Located between the West Woodland Garden and the Prairie Matrix, perennials such as native and European asters (Aster ‘Twilight’ and Aster amellus ‘Sonora’), beebalm (Monarda bradburiana), and turkish sage (Phlomis russeliana) are arranged in individual groupings or combinations like Hubricht’s bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) with Sirak cranesbill (Geranium ‘Sirak’) that create a beautiful blend of textures and colors. Lead plant (Amorpha canadens), Gay Butterflies butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa ‘Gay Butterflies’), and Isely largeleaf wild indigo (Baptisia leucantha) as scattered individuals add to the symphony of greens and blooms throughout each season.

Bordering the entrance disc, an ocean of prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis) brings structure and softness in equal measure. Its tidy, arching clumps contrast beautifully with looser perennials like Hubricht’s bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), Rocky Top Hybrid Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis ‘Rocky Top Hybrid’), and purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea). From late summer to autumn, visitors walking toward the Herzog & de Meuron building move through a field of flower panicles that release a warm, nutty fragrance that hints of coriander and autumn hayfields, their motion and color evoke the prairies of middle America, buzzing with wildlife.

Located at the North 21st Street entrance, this planted area neighbors a rich and diverse woodland and a perennial meadow on the east side of the site. Along the path, Gateway Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium ‘Gateway’), Diane culver’s root (Veronicastrum ‘Diane’), Elin meadow rue (Thalictrum ‘Elin’), and other giant perennials grow nearly five feet tall over the course of the season, enveloping visitors and bringing them eye level with flowers and the pollinators they attract. Amur maackia (Maackia amurensis) hold the volume of the space through winter and spring, framing and revealing the rest of the landscape as the path opens to lower plants and longer views.

This space hugs the perimeter of a large disc-shaped, stone-paved plaza. The diverse and architectural perennials here are scattered amongst the background of alkali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides) and gray moor grass (Sesleria nitida).

This sunken outdoor space has been carved out of the earth, creating a rough triangle in which to display Calder’s work. The walls are covered in vines: silvervein creeper (Parthenocissus henryana) and climbing hydrangea vine (Schizophragma hydrangeoides) ascend from below while Major Wheeler coral honeysuckle (Lonicera ‘Major Wheeler'), Radiance scarlet clematis (Clematis texensis ‘Radiance’), and Amethyst Falls wisteria (Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’) spill down from above.

This perfectly circular space presents sculpture by Calder against a backdrop of Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia var. engelmannii) and clematis (Clematis ‘Praecox’).