The New Orleans Botanical Garden is one of the few remaining examples of a public garden designed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great depression. The garden opened in 1936 as New Orleans’ first public classical garden. It was originally named the City Park Rose Garden. This is a national treasure as it is one of the few remaining garden design from the Art Deco Period.
In the early 1980′s it was re-named the New Orleans Botanical Gardens. The garden’s collections contained over 2,000 varieties of plants collected from all over the world. All this was showcased among the nation’s largest stand of mature live oaks.
The category 3+ winds of Hurricane Katrina caused serious tree damage. At least 3 feet of flood waters covered the plant collection for nearly two weeks. The entire plant collection was lost. The containerized plants that were above the flood waters were lost to the absence of electrical power. These plants included the collection of bromeliads, orchids, staghorn ferns. Greenhouse plants were also lost due to the excessive heat buildup and the disabling of the automatic watering systems.
Fortunately the structures survived with relatively minor damage. Since 2005, one of main goals has been to restore the plant collections.The Conservatory of the Two Sisters has been renovated. New theme gardens containing aquatics have been added. Recently completed is the New Orleans Historic Train Garden. Today the gardens are alive with education opportunities for all ages, evening concerts, plant sales, tours and special events
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