Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville

[Mith242]

Looks like the Botanical Garden will be opening this weekend, at least the first phase of it. It's taken quite a while but at least it has been moving slowly. Could take even longer on some of the other phases. They just have to keep waiting to get more funding to continue the other phases. This phase has the horticulture center and 6 acres of the 86 acres they have around Lake Fayetteville. Here's some renderings of what will be in this initial phase.

Overall look of phase one.

Children's Garden

Japanese Garden

Rock and Water Garden

Ozark Native Garden

http://www.bgso.org/images/ArNative2.jpg

Rose and Perennial Garden

Sensory Garden

More info here at their website.

http://www.bgso.org/garden_site.html

[Mith242]

Here's a look at their master plan.

[masons_dad1]

Those are some beautiful renders! I can't wait for it to get some more phases completed. It'll definitely be the best public garden in NWA.

[Mith242]

Those are some beautiful renders! I can't wait for it to get some more phases completed. It'll definitely be the best public garden in NWA.

Yeah the bad thing is who knows when that will happen. Until recently the whole things has been moving rather slowly. But about a year ago they finally got a decent amount of money to at least do the first phase. Either way it will be nice just to have something open now, even if it's not particularly big for now.

[mcheiss]

Is this going to be mainly foilage from Arkansas, or is it going to include plants and fauna from around the world. I would love to see an English Garden over there.

[masons_dad1]

Is this going to be mainly foilage from Arkansas, or is it going to include plants and fauna from around the world. I would love to see an English Garden over there.

Looks to me like there will be a Japanese Garden, an East Asia/Himalayan Garden, an Appalachian Garden, an Ozark Garden, a Caucasus European Garden, and just about every garden one can think of. I think there will be something for everyone there. If it ever get's that far.

[mcheiss]

I hope you don't mind Mith, but since this is a development I'm going to move it to the main boards.

[Mith242]

I hope you don't mind Mith, but since this is a development I'm going to move it to the main boards.

No problem at all. I for some reason thought you would prefer it over there so that's why I put it there.

[strmchsr77]

The size of this project seems really impressive. Is all of this coming from donations or once it gets closer to completed will they charge admission? Are there any other Botanical Gardens in region that are comparable in size or larger?

[masons_dad1]

The size of this project seems really impressive. Is all of this coming from donations or once it gets closer to completed will they charge admission? Are there any other Botanical Gardens in region that are comparable in size or larger?

Other than Blue Spring Heritage Center near Eureka Springs (definitely the largest!), Compton Gardens in Bentonville is pretty nice. It's made up of 6.5 acres of mostly native trees and plants, but there's a plains area and a walking trail that includes two footbridges crossing a meandering stream. If the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is ever completed it would be much larger and more diverse than even Blue Spring!

[Mith242]

The size of this project seems really impressive. Is all of this coming from donations or once it gets closer to completed will they charge admission? Are there any other Botanical Gardens in region that are comparable in size or larger?

I believe it's all being done by donation. Which is one of the reasons it's been taking so long to get it going. I've never heard of them charging admission but maybe they need to think about it if it would help get the other phases going. I think it was taking so long that the city finally gave them a nice chunk of money just so that they could at least have something open. As masons_dad1 mentioned there's Blue Spring Heritage Center. Although to be honest I was a bit disappointed in it the last time I went. It's certainly more heritage center than botanical park now. A decade or so ago it was the Eureka Springs Botanical Garden. I went to it once back then. It was pretty nice back then. I've heard about the Compton Gardens but haven't been up there to check it out.

[mcheiss]

I don't care if they charge $10, I'd still pay to go here. I can't wait for this to be finished.

[masons_dad1]

I don't care if they charge $10, I'd still pay to go here. I can't wait for this to be finished.

If it's as impressive as the plans it would be worth at least $10 admission. Another great public garden is Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg, Florida and they charge $8 admission. The only thing is the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is going to be much bigger and more diverse with gardens from all around the world and an interactive children's garden, with much more than that.

Of course they would have to include security into the costs to build it, which would increase the need for initial investments, like corporate sponsorships and donations.

[Aporkalypse]

This is really a neat project. If the vision comes true it could be every bit as nice as the Dallas Arboretum. Is the UA affiliated with it the way they are the Botanical Gardens in Hot Springs?

[Mith242]

This is really a neat project. If the vision comes true it could be every bit as nice as the Dallas Arboretum. Is the UA affiliated with it the way they are the Botanical Gardens in Hot Springs?

No, that's what's ironic. There's no affiliation at all. For that matter there's no affiliation to anything else in the area. It's probably why this has been taking so long to happen. Talks of a botanical garden seriously started up around 12 years ago. It would really be great to see some of the other phases, but I'm not sure just how long they're going to take. It might be another decade just for phase two for all I know. But I guess there's hope once it has something open maybe there will be a better chance for support. I think I'm going to try to swing by Saturday and take a look around and of course take some pics.

[Thia]

The size of this project seems really impressive. Is all of this coming from donations or once it gets closer to completed will they charge admission? Are there any other Botanical Gardens in region that are comparable in size or larger?

I do think there is a plan to charge admission at some point (no idea when or how much) because I'm pretty sure I've heard them commit to always being open to the public for free on Saturday mornings so that the gardens are available to all guests regardless of their ability to pay admission. I haven't heard this repeated in the past six months or more but I really haven't been to any of their events in over a year.

[Mith242]

I do think there is a plan to charge admission at some point (no idea when or how much) because I'm pretty sure I've heard them commit to always being open to the public for free on Saturday mornings so that the gardens are available to all guests regardless of their ability to pay admission. I haven't heard this repeated in the past six months or more but I really haven't been to any of their events in over a year.

I've never heard any talk of charging but it makes sense to me considering who limited their finances are. I wouldn't have any problems paying. Although to be honest Saturday mornings are probably the time that would work best for me anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing what everything is like on Saturday.

[Aporkalypse]

I do think there is a plan to charge admission at some point (no idea when or how much) because I'm pretty sure I've heard them commit to always being open to the public for free on Saturday mornings so that the gardens are available to all guests regardless of their ability to pay admission. I haven't heard this repeated in the past six months or more but I really haven't been to any of their events in over a year.

The Dallas Arboretum charges around $10 a person and $5 per car for parking. You can buy annual memberships that cost me $90 for my whole family which means I can bring up to 6 guests and I park for free. It was well worth it, we love to take our two year old and let him wander around. Of course it is probably a lot larger than these gardens and that has to be factored in but the arboretum foundation is well-supported by philanthropists, including Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks.

I would love to have something like this in Little Rock but I guess with Hot Springs so close it doesn't make much sense. It would be a nice addition to the new War Memorial Park.

[Mith242]

The Dallas Arboretum charges around $10 a person and $5 per car for parking. You can buy annual memberships that cost me $90 for my whole family which means I can bring up to 6 guests and I park for free. It was well worth it, we love to take our two year old and let him wander around. Of course it is probably a lot larger than these gardens and that has to be factored in but the arboretum foundation is well-supported by philanthropists, including Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks.

I would love to have something like this in Little Rock but I guess with Hot Springs so close it doesn't make much sense. It would be a nice addition to the new War Memorial Park.

I guess since there's a zoo in Little Rock at least we'll manage to have something that isn't down there.

[Mith242]

I mentioned this briefly in the Fayetteville topic. But there was a bigger writeup in the Northwest Arkansas Times today about Fayetteville winning the American in Bloom competition again for it's size division. I was glad to at least see it get more notice than that little sidenote they put in the paper the other day. Although the American in Bloom competition is about more than just flowers I thoguht this might be a good topic to mention this in. We seem to do very good in on the national level. Now if we can just win the international level.

[edensfall]

A little off topic, but we need a ZOO, and it would coinside perfectly with the botanical gardens, and im not talking about a gentry drive thru either, im talking about a tulsa zoo, i dont even like little rocks zoo, its kinda plain and boring. We also need an aquarium like tulsa's built next to the lake and the gardens, that would be an amazing complex, if only these dreams would come true.

[Mith242]

A little off topic, but we need a ZOO, and it would coinside perfectly with the botanical gardens, and im not talking about a gentry drive thru either, im talking about a tulsa zoo, i dont even like little rocks zoo, its kinda plain and boring. We also need an aquarium like tulsa's built next to the lake and the gardens, that would be an amazing complex, if only these dreams would come true.

Yeah I'd certainly wouldn't mind seeing a zoo or aquarium. But I think if we were to get a zoo going it's not going to be anything impressive. I think right now we'd have to be happy with something like what Little Rock has. In the past there's been a little bit of talk of an aquarium. I believe there's some people interested in starting one but I'm sure the main problem is getting the money to get one going.

[mcheiss]

Yeah I'd certainly wouldn't mind seeing a zoo or aquarium. But I think if we were to get a zoo going it's not going to be anything impressive. I think right now we'd have to be happy with something like what Little Rock has. In the past there's been a little bit of talk of an aquarium. I believe there's some people interested in starting one but I'm sure the main problem is getting the money to get one going.

Fayetteville wanted an aquarium a few years ago, but financial problems resulted in it not being built. I'd say we have to wait a few years. As soon as Crystal Bridges and a few other large attractions get built in the area, I would say our metro will be prime for a zoo, aquarium, planatarium, and other cultural ammenities.

[masons_dad1]

A little off topic, but we need a ZOO, and it would coinside perfectly with the botanical gardens, and im not talking about a gentry drive thru either, im talking about a tulsa zoo, i dont even like little rocks zoo, its kinda plain and boring. We also need an aquarium like tulsa's built next to the lake and the gardens, that would be an amazing complex, if only these dreams would come true.

Hopefully more funding can go to Gentry Drive-Thru Safari and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge because it could be decades before NWA get's a real zoo or aquarium. Springfield has a nice zoo, or so I've heard, but the city of Springfield is about twice the population of Fayetteville. So, unless all 4 major cities in NWA figure out a way to split the cost, which won't happen, I'd wait until Fayetteville is about twice as big as it is now; or roughly 50 years.

Unless, of course, there's a Walton who is a big animal lover!

[Mith242]

Hopefully more funding can go to Gentry Drive-Thru Safari and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge because it could be decades before NWA get's a real zoo or aquarium. Springfield has a nice zoo, or so I've heard, but the city of Springfield is about twice the population of Fayetteville. So, unless all 4 major cities in NWA figure out a way to split the cost, which won't happen, I'd wait until Fayetteville is about twice as big as it is now; or roughly 50 years.

Unless, of course, there's a Walton who is a big animal lover!

Yeah you're right the only way I see it happening anywhere in the near future is if all the NWA cities work together and get one. Well unless one of the Waltons suddenly decided to build one. Not sure if that's too likely to happen though. I always wondered if the area would consider something small and work their way up from there. Perhaps the same thing for an aquarium as well. Hot Springs does have an aquarium of a sort. It's certainly nothing fancy but hey they have more than what we have. It's been quite a while since I've been to it. But I think it was an old retail spot that was converted into a makeshift aquarium. They had a number of large household type aquariums. The first time I went to it I was rather disappointed but I should have known better since I had never heard anything about it before. But to be honest the more I thought about it, it really wasn't all that bad. They still had some very interesting fish and the aquariums were set up nicely and as I said they were rather large for something you could get at home. But anyway I guess my point is, that we might have to start small and work our way up to get some of these things.