CVB Travel: Public gardens add to Springfield's appeal

Susan Wade is public relations manager with Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Flowers and a vegetable garden in my backyard give me joy and relaxation, but the space is too small to quench my desire for touching delicate flower petals, marveling at the colors of ripening vegetables and examining the textures of leaves.

Thanks to community pride, volunteerism and a plethora of green thumbs, I consider Springfield's public gardens to be extensions of my backyard that can satisfy my yearning and create a pleasing experience for other gardening enthusiasts.

Though statistics are not available on how many travelers visit Springfield's public gardens, nationwide interest in gardening makes it a safe bet that many of the 2.2 million people who visit the city each year are checking out the greenery and flowers. According to the National Gardening Association, gardening in the United States is at an all-time high and one of the top leisure activities in the country with 85 million households eight out of 10 participating in lawn and garden activities.

That passion for gardening is evident all over Springfield, and the city's garden scene will only improve as fundraising is under way to build a $3.3 million botanical center overlooking Nathanael Greene Park and Close Memorial Park.

Friends of the Garden, a nonprofit group raising money for the center, has commitments of about $1 million from Greene County, Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, private donors and recently received a $30,200 grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.

The center will serve as a headquarters for gardening activities and offices for the local University Extension program and the parks department's planning department. To learn more, contact Friends of the Garden president Bob Childress at 417-885-9335.

While the botanical center project takes root, people who enjoy gardens can visit other delightful places filled with plants on display.

Here's a sample.

The city's largest public garden is the Japanese Stroll Garden at Nathanael Greene Park.

Along with Japanese-style landscaping, this 7 1/2-acre beauty features a small lake filled with colorful koi that bob to the surface begging for food. The teahouse, moon bridge, moon deck and pagoda offer quiet places for repose, and winding trails offer peaceful walks among the greenery and flowers.

The 59-acre Nathanael Greene Park and adjacent 55-acre Close Memorial Park boast several smaller gardens cared for by groups of volunteers, families and individuals, including the University Extension Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden installed in 1994.

In 2001, the Demonstration Garden was reworked and expanded to include a semi-formal plot showcasing several varieties of turf grass; a vegetable garden that annually yields more than 600 pounds of food for charity; an expanded Missouri wildflower section; an upgraded mixed border area of trees, perennials and shrubs; and an improved herb garden divided into culinary, scented, medicinal and dyeing plants.

Nearby, a garden in Close Memorial Park features nearly 170 rose bushes honoring Vietnam War veterans with color and scent, and the Hosta Society tends a fenced plot with hundreds of the shade-loving plants set among trees, a wood-chip trail and decorative stones. An English-style garden also is taking root by Lake Drummond, a Boy Scout's wildflower area showcases native plants, a butterfly garden is in the works and other plots are in place or in progress along wheelchair-accessible trails.

At Phelps Grove Park, the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden, maintained by volunteer master gardeners, was established in 1992 to demonstrate the efficient use of water in landscaping while providing an interesting and attractive area for strolling and relaxing in an urban setting.

Besides gardens at parks, other projects draw garden lovers and sightseers.

Dickerson Park Zoo features gorgeous landscaping that is maintained by volunteers Lucille Murray and her daughter, Debbie Hoopingarner.

The women's efforts create a stroll through orange and yellow daylilies, giant ornamental grasses, blooming hostas, a colorful butterfly garden and several other plants.

A stroll along the trails at Springfield Nature Center is a must for a look at native plants in natural settings. Wildflowers and foliage grow along trails in a variety of natural communities, including a savanna, upland and bottomland forests, a losing stream, a field, a lake, glades, a marshy area and a creek.

How's that for a satisfying backyard?