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You’ll Say “Coooool!”
at Springfield’s Public Gardens
 Springfield
is a garden lover’s Eden thanks to community pride, volunteerism and
a plethora of green thumbs.
The city’s largest public garden is
the
Mizumoto Stroll Garden opened in 1985 at Nathanael Greene Park.
Along with Japanese-style landscaping, this 7 1/2-acre beauty
features a lake filled with colorful koi that bob to the surface
begging food from visitors. The teahouse, moon bridge, moon deck and
pagoda offer quiet places for repose and winding trails offer
peaceful walks among the greenery and flowers. Hours are seasonal
and admission is charged.
The 59-acre Nathanael Greene Park and
adjacent 55-acre
Close Memorial Park boast several free gardens that are cared
for by groups of volunteers, families and individuals.
The University Extension
Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden at Nathanael Greene Park
features vegetables, ornamental grass and dozens of blooming
perennials and annuals. Master Gardeners developed the original
demonstration garden in 1994. In 2001, the garden was reworked and
expanded to include a semi-formal plot showcasing several varieties
of turf grass; 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 rose garden was installed
in Close Memorial Park by a Springfield family, the Rose Society of
the Ozarks and a local greenhouse. Nearly 170 rose bushes in the
garden honor Vietnam War veterans with color and scent throughout
the season.
Just a few yards from the rose
garden, 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 has taken root in front
of Lake Drummond, a butterfly garden attracts insects and birds and
other plots are being developed along wheelchair accessible trails.
The adjacent parks also have more
than 40 species of trees native to the Ozarks and others are being
planted as amateur and professional horticulturalists and arborists
work toward qualifying the grounds as a national arboretum. The goal
is a natural in Springfield, deemed a “Tree City USA” for several
years in a row by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
Besides the projects at Nathanael
Greene and Close Memorial parks, others garner community support and
garden lovers. Near
Phelps Grove Park, the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden 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. Other gardens are
located within the park.
Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield features gorgeous landscaping
that for several years has been maintained by volunteers. The
volunteer efforts turned the zoo into a stroll through orange and
yellow daylilies, giant ornamental grasses, blooming hostas, a
colorful butterfly garden and several other delightful plants.
For a look at native plants in their
natural settings, a stroll along the trails at the
Springfield-Conservation Nature Center is a must. There, native
wildflowers and foliage grow along trails in a variety of natural
communities, including a savanna area, upland and bottomland
forests, a losing stream, a field, a lake, glades, a marshy area and
a creek. Another common sight at the nature center is wildlife,
including deer, squirrels, water fowl and other birds.
For more information about the city’s
gardens, call the Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-678-8767 or
visit
www.SpringfieldAdventures.com. |
Pools
operated by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board are open with
expanded hours and pool amenities this year. 
Enjoy
some of Springfield's best live music this summer at Park Central
Square in the free concert series Sounds on the Square. 