The Gardens at Central Park Now Open 

We wanted to share this amazing article from the May addition of Broken Arrow City Beat. It’s been an incredible journey working with City Leaders and the thousands of Broken Arrow citizens who have fought for this vision for the past 14 years. We are deeply moved and honored to have been one of the driving forces of this journey. For more info on the history of garden & Phase Two plans go to                https://www.keepbabeautiful.org/rose-garden/

Broken Arrow City Beat’s May Article

The City of Broken Arrow and Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful celebrated the grand opening of The Gardens at Central Park, 1500 S. Main St., located west of the Central Park Community Center, on May 23.

“Building projects that improve our citizens’ quality of life, like The Gardens at Central Park, are some of the most rewarding endeavors we do as a city,” said Mayor Debra Wimpee. “This garden will become a landmark, distinguishing our city for generations as the trees and plants continue to bloom and grow. By encouraging pollination, The Gardens at Central Park will not only be a beautiful and serene destination for residents and visitors to the community, but it will also encourage sustainability, and it will help Broken Arrow continue to flourish as a community.”

Click on the image above to watch a tour of The Gardens of Central Park and hear more from KBAB’s Sharon Atcheson or click here to watch the video from the ribbon cutting ceremony. 

The event marked a significant milestone as City officials, community members, and the Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful [KBAB] organization came together to celebrate the opening of this sustainable, educational garden, which has been in the making for nearly 14 years.

KBAB chair Sharon Atcheson thanked the City of Broken Arrow for its partnership in creating The Gardens at Central Park.

“The synergy that we have in Broken Arrow is hard to explain to people who are not from Broken Arrow,” Atcheson said. “They don’t understand how we work together for the good of Broken Arrow, but that’s what makes this a special place!”

Atcheson described a bit of the journey that KBAB and the City endured, eventually making The Gardens at Central Park possible.  The COVID pandemic slowed KBAB’s fundraising efforts. Still, KBAB was determined to see this garden come to fruition and continued the Broken Arrow Rose Festival once it became safe.  The Broken Arrow Rose Festival, held in conjunction with the Chalk It Up Art Festival and the Rose Kite Festival,annually serves as garden fundraisers.  This year’s event will be held on Sept. 27-29.

“Our dream has become a reality. It’s finally happened!  We are so grateful to the Broken Arrow residents who supported the GO Bond in 2018, which provided funding,” Atcheson said. “This garden belongs to all of us. This lovely amenity to our city will be a peaceful place for everyone to enjoy and a perfect place for prom, graduation, and family pictures.”

Atcheson described another significant development in the garden’s creation, when Bobby Nelson donated $10,000 to honor his father and mother, Jim and Peggy Nelson. That donation was used toward the first design of The Gardens at Central Park.

“That’s when we came up with what the garden would look like,” Atcheson said. “It put a vision in front of everybody.”

A plaque will be installed on the pergola in the Nelson’s honor.

Initially, the idea was to create a large rose garden to complement the city’s historic moniker from the 1920s through the 1950s, as the “City of Roses and Sparkling Spring Water.” However, after Rose Rosette Disease killed many of the roses at the Tulsa Rose Garden at Woodward Park, a decision was made to add a variety of trees, plants, and flowers in addition to the roses.

“Sometimes great things take time,” and “Sharon Atcheson and KBAB Vice Chair Beverly Forester have been tenacious in ensuing we stayed on track to get this project done,” City Manager Michael Spurgeon said.

Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks agreed saying, “They kept the vision alive. They never let up.”

The City Manager also expressed appreciation for the Broken Arrow voters who overwhelmingly approved the 2018 General Obligation Bond Package, which included $500,000 for creating a rose garden at Central Park.

“Quality of Life projects, such as The Gardens at Central Park, are made possible by individuals dedicated to making Broken Arrow the best it can be,” Spurgeon said. “The Keep Broken Arrow Beautiful organization had a vision to create a tranquil space for contemplation and reflection. The voters embraced that vision and approved the funding to make the garden a reality. And the City’s Engineering and Construction Department, landscape architect R.L. Shears, and contractor Motown Outdoors worked together to bring that vision to life.”

The Gardens of Central Park is a 33,000-square-foot destination garden with open grassy areas and native plants to attract pollinators.

Plantings in the gardens include:

• Large Canopy Trees: Oaks, Maples, Ginkgoes, and Cypress.
• Ornamental Trees: Oklahoma Redbud, Holly, and Serviceberries.
• Feature plantings: Agastache, Asters, Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed, Phlox, Bee Balm, Sunflower, Bell Flowers, Mexican Hat Plant, Rue, and Roses.
• Herbs: Ornamental Garlic, Chives, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, and Rosemary.

Architectural elements include a pergola, an entry plaza, and a water feature. The Gardens at Central Park are situated in a previously underutilized area of Central Park that was once home to the city’s softball fields before they moved to Arrowhead Park.

Visitors can stroll along the walkways to appreciate the gardens’ beauty, enjoy the bubbling water’s soothing sounds, explore the growing arboretum, and relax in the open grassy areas, perfect for picnics and play.

The total cost for the City of Broken Arrow to complete the Gardens at Central Park project is $532,000. Through their fundraising efforts, KBAB contributed $42,000 for the original landscape architectural design, the water feature, and the pergola. This grand opening celebration marks the beginning of what this beautiful and serene garden will become for generations.