Getting To Know The Biblical Botanical Garden

One of the best things about our fair city is this: not only is there always something to do, but there’s always something free to do. Between gallery crawls and boat races and the dozens of chances to see fireworks, there is always something cool you can check out, even if you’re strapped for cash. One of those places is the Biblical Botanical Garden at Rodef Shalom in Oakland.

I’m still not quite sure how we found about this little gem in the first place, but I’d had it on the list a year or two before we finally got to check it out.

The garden is open every day but Friday, from June 1st through September 15th. On Wednesdays, you can explore it in the evening as well. That’s what we opted to do, catching it on one of its final nights in August. (There are no lights in the garden, so the evening hours wind down as sunset falls earlier and earlier.)

The centerpiece of the garden is this lovely pond, which connects to a flowing waterfall in the back.

Throughout the garden, the plants are labeled by name. Anything that ‘sounds’ biblical (such as plants with ‘angel’ in the name) that wasn’t specifically mentioned in the Bible gets a brown placard. Anything that can be found in a biblical verse gets a white placard, and the verse is listed beneath it.

While the garden is on the small side, they’ve made excellent use of the space, and there are so many beautiful plants.

Trellis in the center of the garden.

Rodef Shalom above the garden.

A section of the garden featuring edible plants from the Bible.

More edible plants. Each year, the garden has a different theme. This year’s theme was Dining with Queen Esther. In addition to seeing the edible plants mentioned in the Bible, we were given some literature which talked more about the different foods that became available via travelers coming from Asia.

Here’s the little waterfall in the back of the garden. This is a great place to walk through to relax and clear your mind.

Lily pads on the pond.

I loved these leaves, which looked like they were just on the verge of starting to change for the fall!

And finally, perhaps the most recognizable plant from the Bible: palms! I didn’t know we could grow these here in Pittsburgh, but they were thriving!

The Biblical Botanical Garden is staffed with volunteers who are very knowledgeable and able to answer any questions you have. During the season, there are different events and guided tours held at the garden. But even if you don’t have time to take in a full guided tour, you can pop in for a quick stroll through the gardens and enjoy this fantastic (and free) Pittsburgh original!