Water gardens hold charm and beauty and provide for a beautiful blending of nature and a relaxing pleasant atmosphere. Oklahoma provides some of the most serene and beautiful water gardens within the Unites States. This article will pinpoint their location and highlight their features.
Where are Oklahoma’s best water gardens?
The best water gardens in Oklahoma are:
- The Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory – Oklahoma City
- Linnaeus Teaching Garden – Tulsa
- Gathering Place – Tulsa
- Tulsa Botanic Garden – Tulsa
- Lendonwood Gardens – Grove
This article will review the best water gardens that Oklahoma has to offer the public. The gardens are absolutely beautiful and worthy of a visit if you are in the area. Our review will detail hours of operation, directions, and special features that make each water garden unique.
The Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory – Oklahoma City
With over 2,000 varieties of plants set within a beautiful rain forest setting, the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory offers a fantastic serene atmosphere with a 35-foot-tall tropical waterfall. Encompassing both a tropical wet as well as a tropical dry setting, educational opportunities are plentiful to contrast and compare the environments at the same location.
Along with the beautiful plants and foliage, the conservatory includes tropical creatures such as Blue Dart frogs, geckos, and a few tropical birds.
The conservatory offers a wide variety of scenic opportunities for photographs. Packed with so many features and species of plants, ensure to a lot plenty of time for exploration. The pleasant and relaxing atmosphere provides for a fantastic experience no matter your age.
Hours of Operation
Monday-Saturday: 9am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm
The address to the conservatory is 301 W Reno, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
The Crystal Bridge is an enjoyable place to visit. Lovely display of flowers, trees, & waterfalls. The grounds outside the Crystal Bridge are also lovely & well maintained. A nice little downtown park.
Heather C.
A scenic view of the conservatory is available from a high bridge. For a fantastic day trip, we recommend this water garden as one of Oklahoma’s finest.
The Tulsa Botanical Gardens offer a wide variety of garden environments for every garden enthusiast. In December 2012, the Garden laid out its development plan for the 100 plus acre park. Our focus is the Lotus pool. The Lotus pool will provide an exceptional experience in the Garden overlooking the northeastern portion of the garden’s lake. A new bridge, soon coming to the gardens, will be built to allow visitors to walk around the water’s edge with multiple vistas. Each viewing area is designed so that everyone can enjoy the blossoms of aquatic lilies and lotus. Iris and other water-loving plants will offer resting sites for darting dragonflies and butterflies. Overlooks onto the Lotus Pool will visitors an up-close view of the serene qualities of this area.
Gathering Place – Tulsa
Opening in the fall of 2018, Tulsa’s Gather Place is one of Oklahoma’s newest charms. With significant improvements and creations, the Gather Place is the largest public park in Oklahoma.
Gathering Place is funded by a combination of more than 80 corporate and philanthropic organizations funding $465 million to build the park. Construction began in September 2014 and opened in September 2018 with over 100 acres of free public fun and excitement.
A fantastic water garden was built into the Gathering Place as a part of an Eco-friendly strategy and natural symbiotic landscape design. The re-circulating pond’s nearly six million gallons of water through the adjacent wetlands not only conserves water, but also cleanses it. There are a series of exposed wetland infiltration gardens on the south side of the skate park that absorb nearby roadway runoff and also from the Park uplands.
A unique experience, the Gathering Place offers a wide variety of activities for both young and old. The beauty and functionality of the wetlands reinforce the concepts of enacting nature to preserve our environmental responsibility.
Hours of Operation
Gathering Place is open every day* from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Adventure Playground: 9 a.m. to Dusk
Redbud Cafe: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Patio: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
*Hours are subject to change seasonally and/or for events.
I highly recommend wearing good walking shoes, and be prepared to spend lots of time here! It’s fun for all ages.
Adrian M.
Much more than a water garden, the Gather Place provides an amazing experience for the whole family. Enjoy a small part of the park or spend an entire week, the Gather Place offers a wide variety of activities for all to enjoy.
Lendonwood Gardens
An eight-acre botanical garden near Grand Lake, Lendonwood Gardens provide shady pathways that meander through more than 1,200 different types of plants. Along with an amazing collection of rhododendrons, many varieties of day lilies, and several varieties of dogwoods, Lendonwood Gardens also provides a Japanese pavilion that overlooks a beautiful koi pond complete with surrounding flora. This peaceful presentation of nature enables a relaxing atmosphere and opportunity for reflection. Lendonwood Gardens provided a self-guided tour with maps and information inside the entrance at the gatehouse.
Lendwood Gardens was founded in 1995 by Leonard Miller, a retired dentist in Grove, who designed and built the botanical garden. Dr. Miller’s interest in Japanese gardening and horticulture resulted in a unique blend of American and Asian gardening cultures. Dr. Miller donated the garden in 1997.
Hours of Operation
Open year-round during daylight hours
Phenomenal! They have the most beautiful & humongous blooms on their rhododendrons. I’ve never seen such pretty, perennial yellow flowers. They’ve expanded their Koi pond which now has a center island.
Patricia M
Located in the quiet community of Grove, Lendonwood Gardens is a great place to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of lovely surroundings.
Tulsa Botanic Garden: Lotus Pool & All Seasons Garden
The Tulsa Botanical Gardens offer a wide variety of garden environments for every garden enthusiast. In December 2012, the Garden laid out its development plan for the 100 plus acre park. Our focus is the Lotus pool. The Lotus pool will provide an exceptional experience in the Garden overlooking the northeastern portion of the garden’s lake. A new bridge, soon coming to the gardens, will be built to allow visitors to walk around the water’s edge with multiple vistas. Each viewing area is designed so that everyone can enjoy the blossoms of aquatic lilies and lotus. Iris and other water-loving plants will offer resting sites for darting dragonflies and butterflies. Overlooks onto the Lotus Pool will visitors an up-close view of the serene qualities of this area.
Hours of Operation
Open Year-round
Open Tues – Sun, 10am – 5pm
Open Thurs. till 8pm
I wanted to see the gardens while the tulips were blooming. So happy we were able to but there is so much more to see that I plan to take out of town visitors there next month. I look forward to what the next blooms will be! The planning is beautiful, I believe the gardens are just being developed so much will be to come and it’s already really pretty. There is a beautiful small lake you can walk around and plenty of opportunities to sit and rest or just enjoy along the way. There is also a nature trail and a wonderful children’s garden.
J Duncan
Linnaeus Teaching Garden
The Linnaeus Teaching Garden provides a wonder opportunity to enjoy the beauty of a garden that has become a Tulsa landmark. Completed in 2006, volunteers are available to walk you through all of the unique attributes of the grounds as well as learn the art of water gardening. Located along with the Tulsa Garden center the grounds offer a large variety of aquatic plants. The garden was started with the idea of educating homeowners about horticultural possibilities for their own backyards.
The garden was named in honor of Carl Linnaeus, Swedish naturalist and the Father of Botany.
Hours of Operation
The Garden is free and open to the public:
March-early Dec, Tues thru Sat, 9am-4pm
Mother’s Day-August, Sunday, 1pm-4pm
If you are in the least interested in gardening, plants etc. you must visit this place – the home and teaching and research venue of Linnaeus. For anyone with an interest in history this is well worth a visit
Robin E
As you can see from this article, Oklahoma has outstanding opportunities to view and participate in a multitude of water gardens and water garden venues. Water gardens offer many opportunities to admire the beauty of our planet as well as enjoy the peaceful atmosphere provided by a beautiful water garden. From gardening education to environments that provide peace and tranquility, Oklahoma has many opportunities to fulfill your quest in seeking the perfect water garden. If you are traveling throughout Oklahoma, it is well worth your time to stop and smell the flowers provided by these facilities.
Though these water gardens are designed by professionals, they offer amazing ideas for us to use in our own gardens. Whether a type of plant or landscape feature, the many presentations offered by Oklahoma’s best water gardens, the state of Oklahoma is very fortunate to have these amazing gardens.