Koi Pond Pavilion

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Atop Botanica’s highest point sits the Koi Pond Pavilion. The glass walls and windows of the building overlook Boeing Pond. Seating on the sheltered deck provides panoramic views. Nestled on the Pavilion’s east side, enjoy the Koi Pond swarming with colorful koi. Find Water Lilies and Lotuses floating nearby in the small pond.

Cattails and dragonflies dance in the breeze at events held in the Koi Pond Pavilion. Overhead doors open to complement year-round use. A favorite stop for food and drinks at most major events, fun is easy to find at the Koi Pond Pavilion.

Dedicated: 1987

Renovated: 2015

Art In the Garden

Bella, by artist Edward Hlavka, is a little girl overlooking Boeing Pond.

Feature Facts
  • Just outside the Koi Pond Pavilion, notice the elegant Elizabeth Magnolia.  This beautiful, ornamental shade tree grows tall but stays narrow. It produces large, creamy yellow blooms before the leaves come on in the spring. The Koi Pond Pavilion provides sweeping views of nearby trees including the American Elm, Weeping Willow, River Birch and Osage Orange. Other trees of note include the Paperbark Maple, Japanese Maple, Sawtooth Oak and Chinese Chestnut.
  • The Pearl Bush Shrub is an old-fashioned, but uncommon shrub. This attractive and long-blooming shrub has small, round, pearl-like flower buds that open in sequence to pure white, five-petal flowers.
  • Koi up to 3 feet in length and weighing over 40 pounds live in the Koi Pond.  Find the fish food dispenser on the deck during warm weather. Koi should not be fed, and generally do not eat when the water is below 50 degrees. They will go the entire winter season without eating pellet food added to the pond. Koi are colored varieties of common carp kept for decorative purposes in outdoor ponds or water gardens. Often called glorified carp, koi are a cross between goldfish and bluegill. They have been reported to live more than 200 years in Japan.  In Kansas, they typically live 30-40 years. Koi are very hardy, and with proper care, can resist many of the parasites that affect more sensitive tropical fish species.
  • In the summertime, it is a delight to see dragonflies throughout the gardens.  The dragonfly has many incredible features.  Its eyes can see in all directions, 360 degrees, with 80% of its brainpower dedicated to sight.  Sight is very important to the dragonfly for feeding, mating and protecting itself from predators.  However, the most beautiful feature of the dragonfly is its unique movement.  A dragonfly can move in all six directions and can fly at an amazing 45 miles per hour.  It can hover like a helicopter and fly backwards like a hummingbird.  The dragonfly does all of this with the elegance of a ballet dancer.  The dragonfly lives only for a few months. When mating, the partners form a heart shape, for which they have become well known.
  • Canada Geese, Wood Ducks or Mallards, and Herons frequently retreat in and around the Koi Pond.

Koi Pond Pavilion Location