Celebrate National Public Gardens Day

National Public Gardens Day will showcase the contributions public gardens make in environmental stewardship and education.

The Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden will be open this year from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, April through October. Admission is free. Every Saturday, the temporary Visitor Center, one and a half mile Cross Timbers Trail, and three-quarter mile lake path will be open for visitors.

The Garden is taking root on 170 acres seven miles northwest of downtown Tulsa. The Master Plan calls for 60 acres to be developed into 15 major theme gardens, with buildings and other features. One hundred and ten acres of the Cross Timbers Ancient Forest and Prairie are being preserved for research, education and enjoyment by the public. A map is available at ocbg.org.

The Garden is once again partnering with the Philbrook Museum of Art to celebrate National Public Gardens Day in May. National Public Gardens Day will showcase the contributions public gardens make in environmental stewardship and education. Events are planned at many of the nation’s more than 500 public gardens. Maps showing the best routes between the garden and Philbrook will be available at both locations.

The festivities at the Garden will take place Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free both days.

Award-winning members of the Oklahoma Society of Impressionists will be painting outdoors both days. They will be preparing for the society’s second annual Botanical Garden Art Show and Sale in September.

The nature trail will be open, and visitors can get an update on the Garden and walk the new lake path that winds through groves of trees planted last year. Free loblolly pine seedlings will be given away while supplies last, and families are invited to bring picnic lunches.

The events at Philbrook will be held Friday, May 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free with mention of National Public Gardens Day.

Guests are invited to take a self-guided walking tour of Philbrook’s 23 acres of formal gardens and wooded areas. A variety of pathways, bridges, a sculpture walk, and a creek are easily accessed with connecting American Disabilities Act accessibility paths.

Children will delight in finding garden rubbing stones of favorite objects found in the garden. Using a guide that will give clues, families can explore and look for 12 little creatures.

You will also want to mark your calendar for Saturday, June 11 for the Oklahoma Native Plant Society Workshop. Wildflowers, native grasses, and lichens will be the topics at the Garden.

Members of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society will speak at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Speakers will include Dr. Sheila Strawn, who with her husband, Steve, has traveled the state identifying hundreds of species of lichen. Information about their findings at the Garden is in the Learning Center at ocbg.org. A special session with simple crafts and discussion will be available for children. Members also will be on the Cross Timbers Ancient Forest and Prairie Trail and will identify wildflowers for visitors. Winning photos from some of the society’s annual contests and other information will be displayed.

To learn more about the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden, contact Pearl Garrison, communications director, at (918) 289-0330 or eat0@eau0eav0eaw0.

 

For more information, contact

Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden

(918) 289-0330

eat0@eau0eav0eaw0
www.ocbg.org