Myriad Botanical: The Garden of Gardens
Written for Shoot the Breeze Magazine: Volume 00 - July 2024
Tanenbaum Reflecting Garden
It is easy to overlook this section of the gardens. The reflecting garden is tucked away overlooking the water stage, and across from the carousel. I always find this area to have a sense of peacefulness. This morning, I stumbled across three different color ducks resting, tucked away behind the low rock wall. Calmly aware of my presence well before I noticed them. Respecting their space, I nestled down on the bench nearby for a morning of writing. Three distinctly different color patterns waddle their way over to the flowing rock fountain just across from me. They all have a similar dark Grey, almost black bills adoring their gradient of faces. They dip their bills under the drip, drip, drips of the fountain. Initially appearing to quench their thirst, this turned into a dance of butt waddles and meticulously cleaning themselves. Oddly similar process to styling my hair and beard this morning, ensuring everything is neat and orderly. We’ve all got a sense of pride. You may miss the ducks on your stroll through, but if you walk through quietly, and take a moment to reflect, you will have a beautiful experience.
Waterwise Gardens
The bumbling bees really drew my attention in the southeast corner of the Garden’s. Another garden within the garden full of hearty plants and pollinators. This area stretching almost half of Ron Norick Boulevard is often overlooked. You may have missed this hive of life passing by to get to the Paycom Center, or parking for Saturday yoga. Just like the ducks across the park, if you stop and watch, stop and listen, you’ll watch it come alive. I first noticed what appeared to be a hummingbird attracted to the Blue Anise Sage, although it disappeared too quickly for me to follow. Following the next movement, I came across a true bumblebee, diving into flowers covering its legs in pollen. These guys are fascinating to watch, you can very clearly see where the ‘bumble’ in their name comes from as they seem to drunkenly go from flower to flower.
Meinder’s Garden
Walking through here in the spring you may catch a small dart of movement through the ponds. The baby turtles are what caught my attention this spring. As you approach, they’ll scurry away, leaving little dust clouds in the water. Taking a seat on one of the rocks and watching for a while, you might also see some slower movement. After a few minutes the pond comes to life again, you’ll notice turtles no bigger than the palm of your hand swimming around or crawling up on the bank of rocks to catch some sun. With the Devon Energy Center towering, its peak over 800 feet above, it’s a great contrast to this nature in the middle of downtown. We all need a minute to slow down, to catch our breath, to take a break. Taking a walk through the gardens always does this for me, a moment of peace in our crazy lives.
