Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville

-
Borrow some ideas for your garden
Sometimes the best idea for your garden is borrowed from someone else's garden and then adapted to your space and growing conditions.

Since you can't go wandering into other people's yards, the next best idea is to visit public botanical gardens.

The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (www.bgozarks.org) in Fayetteville is a relatively new addition to the area's botanical attractions. The Gardens are easy to walk among, plants are well identified and the new space makes a pleasant outing.

It took several years for the botanical garden to move from idea to reality and now the first nine gardens are open to the public from 9 am to 8 pm every day except Monday.

“Northwest Arkansas gardeners are the ones behind this entire project,” said Sarah King,
Director of Community Programs.

It's instructive to note that The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is the result of a volunteer-led, grassroots effort. Incorporated in 1994, the Director, Donna Porter received a grant from the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust in 1997 to support a paid position for one year. The agreement with the city came in 1997 to use 90 acres of land off Highway 265 on the bank of Lake Fayetteville. Then, the Portico Group specialists in designing botanical gardens, was hired to design a Master Plan.

When Carl Totemeier, Vice President Emeritus of the New York Botanical Garden, retired and moved to the area, he became the Garden's volunteer Director from the spring of 2001 until his death in 2004.

Totemeier provided a clear roadmap for Garden construction and operation. The Fayetteville City Council approved a lease agreement that permits the Botanical Garden to use the site for a minimum of 100 years.
Construction of a timber-framed horticulture center began in 2003, and in July 2004 the Fayetteville City Council approved a grant of $750,000 to be used to complete construction of the center of the parking area.

A friend of the garden, Ed Clement, offered to pay the first year's salary of the Garden's first Director of Operations, Scott Starr.

King said, “Everything from design to plants and hardscape (sidewalks, planters, etc.) is in keeping with our mission of sustainability and using regional materials.”

Other grants aided in the garden's construction.

In 2005, a grant from the Arkansas Forestry Commission supported hydrological studies and development of a plan for stream and riparian zone restoration and in 2006 the City for Garden construction designated a grant from the State Outdoor Recreation Program.

Other major donors prior to 2007 included Tyson Foods, Inc., the Tyson Family Foundation, Barbara Tyson, Ed Clement, the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission, Wal-Mart/SAM'S Foundation, and the Arkansas State Legislature. Other donors provided funds for theme garden construction.

“Fayetteville artist, Hank Kaminsky designed and constructed a bronze butterfly sculpture and fountain for the Sensory Garden,” King said. “The base will have words in several languages including Braille. The sculpture is a memorial to Master Gardener and Farmers Market vendor Martha Barton and the Master Gardeners raised the funding.”

The Carl A. Totemeier Horticulture Center and the nine Phase 1 gardens were dedicated in 2006. An individual, family or group sponsored each of the gardens.

The individual gardens surround a central lawn and include: Ozark Native Garden, Sensory Garden, Shade Garden, Four Seasons Garden, Children's Garden, Vegetable Garden and a Japanese Garden that is not completed.


“The Shade Garden has plant-laden chairs that were designed and planted by Susan Regan,” King said.

“The Children’s Garden sponsor was philanthropist Barbara Tyson,” King said. “Retired horticulturist Gerald Klingaman built the central structure which probably would have cost us $100,000 if he had not volunteered to do it.”

Membership in the garden includes free admission plus admission to other gardens around the country that are in the botanical garden community of the American Horticultural Society. Admission for non-members is $5. Another benefit of membership is an email newsletter with announcements of upcoming events such as classes and concerts. Basic annual membership costs $35 for an individual and $50 for a family.

King said, “This is a great destination for Muskogee families who love beauty, art and gardens, not just plant people. With only 8 of the 90-acres built, there will be new things to see every year.”

Upcoming evening events include: June 19 Trout Fishing in America Concert and June 22 Greenweave Firefly Festival.

Information: www.bgozarks.org/ Sarah King 479.750.2620 and sarahking@bgozarks.org

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicid...
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodicall...
Read more

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife

-
Image
From the website, Choose Natives , this lovely and instructive article helped remind me to continue to increase the amount of habitat and nesting that we provide in our garden. Many, though not all, are native or considered to be native in Oklahoma. So, I did a little research on each recommended plant and provided a link to more information. You'll see the plant name in italics - those are my links for your edification. Here's the post Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture, ‘ Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Connecting Flora and Fauna’,  given to a group of enthusiasts at the Millersville Native Plant Conference   in Pennsylvania, focused on his observations. Here are Derek’s landscaping recommendations for attracting birds: Plant shrubs in clusters (“habitat circles”) that will c...
Read more