Friday, June 4, 2010

The Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden: From the Insider Files

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

How's this for being a TDT reader and, thus, an insider expert on the best of what there is to do in this wonderful city: Not only do you know that there's an Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden and that it's right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but you also know about it before it even fully exists.

Take that, weird, slightly sweaty guy at the water cooler who's always trying to one-up you with his Tulsa knowledge. You're sure to have the edge on him this time.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

What promises to be a premier botanical garden - one of the fanciest in the whole U.S. - is taking root in the Osage Hills, just a few miles northwest of downtown Tulsa.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

The setting? 160 acres of beautiful, rolling hills, where the Cross Timbers from the east meets the western prairie. Think panoramic views of sunrises, sunsets and skyscrapers.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

See downtown peeking out at us from the right?

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Wow.

While the folks at the OCBG look to preserve the original ecosystem of the area, they're also planning 15 theme gardens, 60 specialty gardens, a 7-acre lake, a 3,000-seat amphitheater, visitor center, conservatory, inter-faith chapel, tram service and, if you can believe it, more.

The Garden will promote research and education. The site has already become a living laboratory, and university botanists have collected, identified and catalogued the land's nearly 400 plant species. Archaeologists have searched for artifacts, and foresters are helping to preserve the ancient forest.

And university geology students are checking out the 1.5-mile walking trail, as are their rock-loving spawn.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

The Centennial Phase - that 7-acre lake I mentioned, plus a temporary visitor center, an entrance road, a small parking lot and those hiking trails - is complete.

What's cool about this project is that it will grow with our ability and commitment to fund it. The land for the Garden site was donated, and if donations prove to be enthusiastic enough to complete the garden according to the plan, it expects to host 300,000 visitors each year - which, given attendance at parks like the Tulsa Zoo and River Parks and Woodward Park, seems a very conservative projection.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

The best part about all this? You can check out the garden for yourself. For free, even.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

The OCBG hosts a free open house each Saturday from 10am-1pm. Kids, families, discontented goth teenagers, Uncle Bill - all are welcome to walk the trail and give the Garden a general once-over.

Or, if you're so inclined, a twice-over.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

I think you'll find that the Garden and its promise is worth a donation of at least a few of your hard-earned dollars.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

Does anyone else thing that pink one looks like a Fraggle?

I do.

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

My husband told me this was a wild blackberry bush. I believe him.

Well, I think I believe him. But I didn't exactly try any to make sure.

At any rate, you'll need some of this if you want to hit the trail:

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

You deep woodsman, you.

If you could add one thing to the Garden's master plan, what would it be?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd add some tomatoe plants, even though they are not indigenous to the OK

Steven said...

.25, .5, .75 and 1 mile markers for runners. ;)

Thanks for the information! This looks like another fun place to go for some exercise and education!

Anonymous said...

Isn't this where "The American" statue was suppose to be built? Whatever happened with it?

Anonymous said...

Gosh I hope they finish it. Of course, it is called the Oklahoma CENTENNIAL Botanical Garden because it was supposed to be finished and open for the Oklahoma Centennial, which was 3 years ago.

Still, I was glad to see they finished the pond. I hope it means they are moving forward. But forgive me if I'm skeptical. And it's juxtaposition to the American, well....

They really shouldn't call it a garden yet. Trails maybe.

Mario

Marshall Baker said...

This place is great. My wife and I went hiking for the first time there last week. I can't wait to see when everything is finished

And she is not kidding, we sprayed that same bug spray on us and even still we were getting ticks constantly all over our legs and shoes. We had to stop every 3-4 minutes and brush them off. Next time I will try to put more on and see if that helps.

Tasha said...

Marshall, we, too, used the bug spray and we, too, came home with ticks. Crazy! Not sure if more bug spray helps, but looking each other over after getting home never hurts. Sure glad we did.

Anonymous said...

Mario, are you absolutely sure of your comments? It was called the OK CENTENNIAL Bot Garden since it really moved forawrd leading up to the state centennial in '07, and monies from the state legislature really boosted the initial site analysis, concept planning and then the lake, access road and temporary visitor's center.

And, the naive comment about the garden "to be finished" in less than 10 years is as stupid a comment as you can get. This isn't some cheap, backyard jungle that some master gardener's are slopping together. There are botanical gardens that were started in the 1970s and 80s across the US that aren't even close to being done based on their original concept plans and development of all their acreages.

What's next? Call it the Oklahoma Centennial Land Tract until it is 100% complete by mid-century and THEN assign it a name and identity? Stick to waiting for your pension check and watching Matlock...

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