Brookside Gardens

Brookside Gardens is Montgomery County’s incomparable, award-winning 50-acre public display garden within Wheaton Regional Park. Included in the gardens are several distinct areas: Aquatic Garden, Azalea Garden, Butterfly Garden, Children’s Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Style Garden, Trial Garden, Rain Garden, and the Woodland Walk. The Formal Gardens areas include a Perennial Garden, Yew Garden, the Maple Terrace, and Fragrance Garden. Brookside Gardens also features two conservatories for year-round enjoyment. Admission to the gardens is free.

Brookside Gardens’ vehicle entrances feature deer exclusion grates, which also preclude pedestrians from crossing. All pedestrians should enter the Gardens through the pedestrian entrances on Glenallan Avenue, on the left of the vehicle entrance, or the conservatory pedestrian entrance, to the right of the vehicle entrance. Crossing the deer exclusion grates on foot could result in injury.

The Gardens are open for your enjoyment, relaxation, and exercise from sunrise to sunset.

Visit the website:  Brookside Gardens

The Orange Dead Leaf butterfly (Kallima inachus) is native to broad swaths of dense forests throughout Asia.  Though often hunted by birds, this species is very rarely found, thanks to an evolutionary defensive tactic that employs camouflage. When its wings are closed, this butterfly has mottled brown tones and dark lines that bear a striking resemblance to the veins of a decaying leaf.  Yet when it spreads its wings, a dazzling display of vibrant shades of orange, black, and blue helps this species attract a suitable mate. Could you tell from the image that it was a butterfly? 

Free Fall Concert Series
Join us from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each Wednesday evening in September for a series of musical performances set in the beauty of the Gardens! Admission is free, and no registration is required. Bring your friends and family, and don’t forget your chairs, blankets, and picnics (allowed in the Gardens on concert evenings only). Concerts will be held on the lawn behind the Visitor Center. Food trucks will also be available for your dining pleasure. Alcohol is prohibited. Visit the event website to learn more and for updates. 

  • September 2 – Ocho de Bastos / Genre: Latin Pop, Rock
  • September 9 – Loveboat Yacht Rock / Genre: 70s & 80s Cover Band
  • September 16 – Atomic Light Orchestra / Genre: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) & Traveling Wilburys Tribute Band
  • September 23 – David Cole & Main Street Blues / Genre: R&B, Blues

 

People looking at plants at the Brookside Gardens and Friends of Brookside Gardens plant sale

Friends of Brookside Gardens (FOBG) Fall Plant Sale
This rain or shine event will take place on Saturday, September 12.  FOBG members will get a 10% discount and have early morning access from 9 to 10 a.m. Not a member? Come early and join at our Membership table before purchasing your plants and get your 10% discount! The general public can enjoy shopping from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until supplies last.  A variety of perennials, shrubs and trees will be on sale with many native plant options!  Pay by cash, check or credit card with proceeds benefitting Brookside Gardens. The sale will take place on the South Terrace just outside Brookside Gardens' Visitor Center. 


 

Pop Up Cart with a person dressed in a bee costome and a man holding up a book on bees.

Pop-Up Exploration Cart – Insects!
Thursday, August 27 & Friday, August 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Free | All Ages; Registration not required
Location: Children’s Garden

Celebrate the six-legged superheroes of summer in the gardens they call home. Join us outdoors to learn about insects like butterflies and bees and the ecosystems they support. Youth can use Identification and measurement tools throughout the program near the Children's Garden. Drop-ins welcome.

Plants of interest at Brookside Gardens in August

 

Blue lobelia upclose

  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
  • Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
  • Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
  • Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
  • Hardy hibiscus  (Hibiscus moscheutos)
  • New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
  • Nodding onion (Allium cernuum)
  • Purple Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
  • Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
  • Wandflower (Oenothera lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies')