Inniswood Metro Gardens

What Inniswood Metro Gardens does

Inniswood Metro Gardens is a 123-acre public botanical garden located in Westerville, Ohio, operated by Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks and supported by the Inniswood Garden Society (IGS), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1984, and Inniswood Volunteers Inc. Originally donated as a 38-acre estate by sisters Grace and Mary Innis in 1972, the gardens have expanded through voter-approved park levies to host more than 2,000 plant species across specialty collections including Rose, Herb, Conifer, Woodland Rock, Fern, Sisters', Circle, Memorial, and Brookwood Trail Gardens, plus natural woodland and trail systems. The site serves hundreds of thousands of central Ohio visitors annually, with free public admission and educational programming delivered through a self-guided Tree Walk using QR code placards, themed annual planting displays (e.g., the 2026 "Americana" theme for the U.S. 250th birthday), school tours, and a Junior Volunteer program for ages 11–17.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally minimal: QR-code-based mobile linking for tree and plant identification, a content website at inniswood.org, and standard social media channels (Facebook, X). No proprietary platform, mobile app, or software product is built. The organization generates revenue through a tiered membership program ranging from $35 Individual to $1,000 Life memberships, donations, planned giving/bequests, Kroger Community Rewards passive contributions, and event venue rentals at Innis House for weddings, photography, and rotating Artists of the Month exhibitions. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on visitor word-of-mouth, in-park membership enrollment, and a quarterly newsletter (Inniswood Image). Nearly 300 active volunteers contribute hundreds of hours of service monthly, and a reciprocal network of 12 local garden retailers provides member discounts, anchoring the commercial ecosystem around the gardens.

Name

Inniswood Metro Gardens

Legal name

Inniswood Garden Society

Website

https://inniswood.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Inniswood Metro Gardens is a 123-acre public botanical garden in Westerville, Ohio, offering free admission to central Ohio visitors, featuring over 2,000 plant species, themed gardens, and educational programming, sustained by memberships, donations, and voter-approved park levies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Botanical Gardens

NAICS

Zoos and Botanical Gardens (71213), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Parks, Gardens & Botanical Attractions (THAJACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Garden Bed Design, Layout & Planting Plans (HSAIAFAA), Educational & Edutainment Parks (Science/Discovery/Children’s Parks) (THAJAEAG), Seasonal Color, Planting & Horticultural Services (BPABADAL)

Keywords

• Public botanical gardens
• Horticultural education
• Themed garden displays
• Venue rental events
• Community garden society

Headquarters

HQ city

Westerville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from the Inniswood Garden Society (IGS) supporting operations and special projects. Tiers range from $35 Individual to $1,000 Life Membership, plus Garden Club memberships.
2. Planned Giving / Bequests: Estate bequests designated to the Inniswood Garden Society for long-term financial sustainability.
3. Kroger Community Rewards: The Kroger Community Rewards Program allows shoppers to designate the Inniswood Garden Society as their charity, with Inniswood earning a percentage of qualifying purchases.
4. Event Rentals: Venue rentals for weddings, photography sessions, and exhibitions at Innis House generate revenue. The site also hosts the annual Artists of the Month exhibition series.
5. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from visitors and supporters supporting the gardens' growth and development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Inniswood Metro Gardens operates a 123-acre public botanical garden in Westerville, Ohio, offering free admission to themed gardens, natural woodland, and educational programs. The core offering is a free public recreational and horticultural experience supported by membership tiers, donations, event rentals, and volunteer services. The gardens host the Innis House visitor center, Artists of the Month exhibitions, self-guided Tree Walk tours, and seasonal themed planting displays.

Product overview

Inniswood Metro Gardens is a public botanical garden operated by Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks. The facility spans 123 acres and features over 2,000 plant species across multiple themed gardens including Rose, Herb, Conifer, Woodland Rock, Sisters', Circle, Memorial, Fern, Cutting, and Brookwood Trail Gardens, complemented by natural woodland areas. The gardens offer educational programming through the Inniswood Garden Society membership program, self-guided Tree Walk tours with QR code access, volunteer opportunities, and seasonal themed displays such as the 2026 'Americana' theme celebrating the U.S. 250th birthday. Innis House serves as the visitor center hosting rotating Artists of the Month exhibitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inniswood Metro Gardens Public Garden Access A 123-acre public botanical garden featuring over 2,000 species of plants across specialty collections and themed gardens including Rose, Herb, Conifer, Woodland Rock, Sisters', Circle, Memorial, Fern, Cutting, and Brookwood Trail Gardens, along with natural woodland, trails, and educational programming. Free admission to general public.
• Tree Walk Self-Guided Tour A self-guided tree identification tour featuring QR code placards at various tree specimens throughout the gardens, allowing visitors to scan codes with smartphones to access detailed information about each tree species, identification features, and garden value.
• Innis House Visitor Center and Exhibitions Historic building on the grounds open to the public Tuesday-Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., hosting Artists of the Month exhibitions and serving as the location for membership applications.
• Wedding and Event Venue Rentals Private venue rentals for weddings, photography sessions, and exhibitions at Innis House and the garden grounds. Inquiries handled via phone (614-895-6216).
• Inniswood Garden Society Membership Program 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership program offering benefits including quarterly newsletter (Inniswood Image), voting rights at annual meetings, discounts at 12 local nurseries and garden stores, and discounted fees for special programs. Membership tiers: Individual ($35/year), Family ($50/year), Friend ($75/year), Patron ($150/year), Sponsor ($250/year), Benefactor ($500/year), and Life ($1,000 one-time).
• Educational Programs and Tours Horticultural and educational programming including seminars with guest speakers, school tours, and member-exclusive Gardening FAQ resources with answers from a panel of experts from the IGS, Inniswood Volunteers, and Columbus Metro Parks staff.
• Volunteer Programs (Inniswood Volunteers Inc. and Junior Volunteers) Volunteer opportunities including Inniswood Volunteers Inc. (nearly 300 members providing garden maintenance, tours, educational programs, and special events support) and Junior Volunteers (ages 11-17 assisting with educational programs or garden maintenance). Volunteers contributing 40+ hours annually receive free IGS membership.
• 2026 Garden Theme 'Americana' Seasonal Display Annual themed planting display with 10 seasonal display beds representing various aspects of America and horticulture, featuring plants in historic quilt patterns and designs representing different regions of the United States. Each bed features QR codes linking to plant lists with thumbnails and plant names.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves hundreds of thousands of visitors annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Inniswood Garden Society (IGS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1984IGS, a 501(c)(3) organization created in 1984, assists Metro Parks in the growth and development of Inniswood. IGS sponsors horticultural programs, publishes the quarterly Inniswood Image newsletter, and has been instrumental in creating the Sisters' Garden and Greenhouse Multipurpose Center.
• Columbus and Franklin County Metro ParkscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1972Metro Parks funds the operation and ongoing maintenance of Inniswood Metro Gardens. The Innis Sisters originally donated their 38-acre Westerville estate to Metro Parks in 1972, and subsequent park levies have enabled expansion into the current 123-acre facility.
• Inniswood Volunteers Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA 501(c)(3) nonprofit with nearly 300 members providing hundreds of hours of service monthly. Volunteers assist with garden maintenance, tours, educational programs, and special events. Those completing 40+ volunteer hours annually receive free IGS membership.
• American Horticultural SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIGS Partner, Patron, Sponsor, Benefactor, and Life members receive The American Gardener magazine as a membership benefit.
• Local Garden Retailers (12 Partner Nurseries)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIGS members receive discounts at participating local nurseries including deMonye's Greenhouse, Dill's Greenhouse, Fischer's Gardens, Groovy Plants Ranch, Hoover Gardens, Leaves for Wildlife, Lettuce Work Nursery, Natives In Harmony, Oakland Nursery, Scioto Gardens, Seeley's Landscape Nursery, and Wild Birds Unlimited - Westerville.
• KrogerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough the Kroger Community Rewards Program, shoppers designate IGS as their charity and the organization earns a percentage of qualifying purchases. IGS Kroger code: 80011.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cleveland Botanical Garden (Holden Forests & Gardens): Ohio-based public botanical garden offering free/low-cost admission, themed outdoor gardens, educational programming, and membership tiers — comparable in mission, programming mix, and donor-supported nonprofit structure.
• The Dawes Arboretum: Central Ohio (Newark) public arboretum with free admission, themed plant collections, hiking trails, and educational programming — a near-direct operating analog in the same regional market with similar nonprofit/public-park support structure.
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: A Pittsburgh-based historic public conservatory and botanical garden operating themed seasonal exhibits, education programs, and event rentals — a strong operational analog for themed programming, facility rentals, and educational outreach.
• Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: The other major public botanical garden in the greater Columbus, Ohio market, also operating a themed/conservatory complex with paid and free programming, membership tiers, and educational programming — directly comparable in geography, scale, and visitor-base profile.

Others

• Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks: The government park system that owns and operates Inniswood Metro Gardens and funds its operations through voter-approved levies — directly comparable as the operating/governance counterparty and as a regional peer for park-levy economics and visitor-base dynamics.
• American Horticultural Society: National nonprofit partner that provides The American Gardener magazine to IGS Patron-tier and above members — a thematic peer for horticulture education, member-benefit publishing, and national network membership in the public-garden ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Missouri Botanical Garden: A national-scale public botanical garden (St. Louis) with free general admission, a major paid-event component (Garden Glow, festivals), and deep educational programming — comparable in free-admission model and event-driven monetization.
• Chicago Botanic Garden: A large-scale public botanical garden with free admission, 2.5+ million annual visitors, robust membership model, and major educational programming — a much larger incumbent that anchors best-practice benchmarks for garden operations, fundraising, and themed exhibits.
• The Morton Arboretum: A 1,700-acre public arboretum near Chicago combining outdoor tree collections, themed gardens, research, and education — a broader, larger incumbent with a similar free-access-plus-membership operating model and educational/visitor-programming focus.
• Longwood Gardens: A premier public botanical garden (Pennsylvania) combining outdoor themed gardens, conservatories, ticketed events, and a robust membership base — a scaled incumbent demonstrating the upside of themed programming, event rentals, and donor-funded capital campaigns.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cbusmetroparks?lang=en
• Facebookfacebook.com/InniswoodMetroGardens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/inniswood-metro-gardens

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inniswood Metro Gardens