The Cutler Botanic Garden is a small free-to-visit learning and research botanical garden in Binghamton, New York, in the United States. It is meant to help teach visitors about horticulture in self-guided tours with the help of signs that explain what is going on.
Visiting in April is a sort of dead time, because of the natural cycle of the plants. For example, the Rose Path was still on its winter Thorn Path variation. However, there are still things to see as things are preparing to bloom or starting to grow— all of which are neatly labeled— and fun landscaping. Walking and looking entertained my family for an hour, particularly the labyrinth with its “podium” in the center.
One of the first things we observed was that there are roads surrounding the space, which might help reduce deer and related garden pests. Many larger animals do not like being next to the roads. Conversely, I saw numerous smaller animals, such as squirrels and birds.
Disappointingly, the sundial was facing the wrong direction. We all know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This sundial, with its “north” set to the south, indicated incorrectly that the sun was setting in the east. That is one way to confuse young visitors!
The rock garden appeared to be one particularly large rock in a small spiral. It might look better in the summer.
The labyrinth was small but fun. We all found it a bit amusing to follow the maze in. It has a wider path than at most other “labyrinths” in gardens or parks I have visited. The circular podium at the center became a spot where my toddler wanted each of us to stand and sing a song. (My husband was scolded by our toddler for not singing a complete version of the song, and he was literally pushed to go back and finish, ha ha.)
It is easy to find the gazebo, which was a relaxing shaded place to sit.
While this small garden is not somewhere to go as a primary destination, it is somewhere pleasant to stop at instead of waiting in a hotel room.
