Overview

In the heart of the 101-acre Mat­ter Park, 6.3 acres of lux­u­ri­ous land­scap­ing includes both the Gar­dens of Mat­ter Park and the Mead­ow (the Gar­dens’ expan­sion). Home to wed­dings, reunions, and grad­u­a­tion par­ties, the Gar­dens of Mat­ter Park has become a Hoosier gar­den show­case sym­bol­iz­ing the spir­it and ded­i­ca­tion of our com­mu­ni­ty. The Gar­dens are rich with over 7,000 annu­al plants, shade struc­tures, bronze stat­ues, and var­i­ous seat­ing, all with­in dec­o­ra­tive fenc­ing. The Mead­ow offers addi­tion­al sight-see­ing fea­tures, some of which include a Children’s Veg­etable Gar­den, one of the Garfield stat­ues com­plet­ing the Grant Coun­ty Garfield Trail, and a nation­al award-win­ning But­ter­fly Gar­den fos­ter­ing the liveli­hood of Monarch but­ter­flies. The Gar­dens are home to many Friends of the Gar­dens qual­i­ty-of-life pub­lic events includ­ing Hearts & Arts, Plan­ta­palooza (plant sale), Gar­den Edu­ca­tion Series, Monarch Fes­ti­val & Ice Cream Socials, and Mag­ic in the Gar­dens fam­i­ly events, all of which are free com­mu­ni­ty events. Parks & Recre­ation has also host­ed Con­certs in the Gar­dens, Dad­dy Daugh­ter Dances, An Evening in the Gar­dens annu­al fundrais­ers, and still brings vis­i­tors from near and far the Walk­way of Lights dri­ve-through hol­i­day light dis­play, one of the biggest in the coun­try with over 2 mil­lion lights.

Gar­den House

The Gar­dens of Mat­ter Park fea­ture the Gar­den House, a year-round tem­per­a­ture-con­trolled indoor facil­i­ty com­plete with a fire­place, kitchen, and pri­vate restrooms, offer­ing an ide­al loca­tion for events and pri­vate par­ties. The Gar­den House can pro­vide ban­quet seat­ing for up to 128 peo­ple. There is a even a Baby Grand piano on site.

The Mead­ow

The most recent addi­tion to the Gar­dens of Mat­ter Park is the Mead­ow. The added lush acreage fea­tures an open pavil­ion with 8 pic­nic tables, and an out­door kitchen com­plete with a grill, sink, and mini-fridge. This pic­turesque pavil­ion seats about 64 peo­ple. There are restrooms con­ve­nient­ly locat­ed next to the shelter.

Rules

• No smok­ing
• No skat­ing or bicycling
• Pets are allowed on a leash

The Gar­dens of Mat­ter Park has devot­ed staff, but the grounds’ sus­tain­abil­i­ty and liveli­hood would not be pos­si­ble with­out its estab­lished sup­port­ing orga­ni­za­tions. Vis­it Friends of the Gar­dens (https://​www​.friend​soft​he​gar​dens​.us/) for more infor­ma­tion about many of the Gar­dens’ events and programs.