CINCINNATI, Ohio— While many small local businesses are struggling, many large attractions in our state are too, including the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. In fact, this is one of the busiest times of year for the zoo with the thousands of tulips blooming this month. But zoo employees got creative in sharing the beauty of the flowers.

  • The Cincinnati Zoo has over 110,000 tulips blooming each April
  • While the zoo is closed, it wanted to share the beauty with the community
  • The zoo has cut some of the blooms and donated flower arrangements to hospitals and nursing homes

The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s employees and animals are missing their visitors after about a month of being closed.

“When you walk around the zoo this time of year and it’s empty, you just really feel the void of visitors," Michelle Curley the zoo's communications director said.

And during the month of April, many visitors are missing going to the zoo to see the beautiful flowers in bloom this time of year.

“April is the most beautiful time at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden," Curley said. "That’s when most garden enthusiasts come to visit. We have 110,000 blooming tulips.”

Hundreds of volunteers help plant the tulips each fall in hopes of visitors enjoying the spectacle. But this year, that wasn’t the case.

“We didn’t want the beauty to go waste, we wanted to share it," Curley said.

So, the zoo decided to cut some of their fresh blooms and donate arrangements to hospitals, health care workers and nursing homes. The zoo even received thank you letters from hospital patients on how much the flowers brightened their day.

“The live flowers really made a difference and really brightened her day and that’s just what we wanted," Curley said.

While the zoo continues to do at home safaris to keep their fans engaged, employees say, it’s been a difficult time for their staff.

“It costs about $80,000 to keep the zoo running a day," Curley said. "So, we’re missing out on all of the revenue that we would have to pay our bills. So, it’s a tough time.”

If you would like to support the zoo, feel free to donate through their Facebook fundraisers or buy a membership for the upcoming season.