Points of

Interest

The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks offers even more than the 12 theme gardens!

Over 20 “points of interest” are scattered around and throughout the grounds intending to intrigue, engage, and educate Garden guests.

Bat House

The Bat House tower is a t-shaped, bar roost designed by Davide Murphree. Murphree researched the endangered Ozark Big-Eared Bat and designed this tower with their needs in mind. Bats are nocturnal, and during the day they will sleep upside down in hollow trees, under loose bark like that of the Shagbark Hickory. Bats hang upside down between the slats of wood along the top of the tower. Since bats are insectivores, eating up to 3,000 insects each night, it is beneficial to welcome bats to a garden so they can eat garden pests. The Bat Tower is a gift of Dave and Carol Albert.

Beehives

In 2023, the Northwest Arkansas Beekeepers Association donated bees and two “nucleus colonies” to the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. These are small-sized hives in which a small colony of bees reside. The bees living here are Apis mellifera, or the European Honeybee. Members of a hive include workers, drones, and of course, a queen! Ed Levi and Jay Davidson, members of the association, installed these hives and frequently visit for upkeep and maintenance. The fence surrounding and protecting the hives was donated by Superior Fence & Rail.

Bioswale & Boardwalk

Near the Rock & Water Garden, guests cross the wooden boardwalk, donated in memory of Mary H. Yates, over a bioswale, or bioretention swale. A bioswale is a landscape element designed to redirect rainwater runoff for plant use and stormwater filtration. Water flows into the bioswale, over its sloped edges, where contaminants and inorganic materials are filtered by the soil and through the root system before entering the drainage system, and eventually into natural streams and bodies of water. These areas are typically planted with hardy, strong-rooted plants, and grasses that are able to tolerate wet and dry conditions. Look for the native grasses, native irises, native hibiscus plants, and the Buttonbush.

Boxwood Circle

The Boxwood Circle sits right behind the Four Seasons Garden. This small garden space is encircled in a hedge of assorted boxwood species and cultivars that allow visitors to see firsthand the mature characteristics of these slow-growing shrubs. Gerald Klingaman donated all of the boxwood trees found here, including Southern Boxwoods like Suffruticosa, Variegata, and Green Tower & Littleleaf Boxwoods like Emerald Jewel, Winter Gem, and Green Beauty. Eventually, the BGO horticulture team would like to turn this part of the Garden into a “natural sundial” made up entirely of boxwood trees.

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Butterfly House

The Karen Rose Butterfly House & Edith M. Fletcher Pavillion, donated by the Pratt family and friends, is designed to resemble the wings of a butterfly. It is a partially roofed and screened structure that enables our dedicated & knowledgeable butterfly volunteers to share the wonder of metamorphosis with guests of the Garden, to encourage the planting of host and nectar plants that will sustain native butterflies, and to encourage understanding the habitat needed to increase declining butterfly populations. Inside the Butterfly House, you can often spot each stage of a butterfly’s life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult butterfly. This metamorphosis of our native butterflies occurs from May to October, with heightened activity in the summer months (July through mid-September). Look for native butterflies like the zebra swallowtail, eastern black swallowtail, pipevine swallowtail, and the monarch.

Carl A. Totemeier Horticulture Center

Carl Totemeier was the volunteer Executive Director of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks from 2001 to 2004. In 2006, the Carl A. Totemeier Horticulture Center was dedicated, with former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers as the keynote speaker. The large space on the first floor of the building is known as the Totemeier Event Hall. Today, this space is used for private events like parties and weddings, and classes & workshops held indoors. This building also houses public restrooms, the admissions office, and offices for staff.

Carnivorous Plant Bog

We have a Carnivorous Plant Bog near the Chicken Coop and Children’s Garden. In the wild, most carnivorous plants grow in sunny, acidic, nutrient-poor wetlands called bogs, which we have replicated at this point of interest. Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in areas where the soil quality is very poor. Instead of relying on pulling nutrition in through their roots, these plants have modified leaves that capture or trap insects. All of the carnivorous plants we grow in the Garden are native to the United States. The three main types of carnivorous plants in our bog are pitcher plants, sundews, and Venus fly traps.

Chicken Coop

Every garden needs a place to take excess plant materials! Behind the Vegetable & Herb Garden, guests will find a chicken coop built by the FFA Club of Springdale High School with materials purchased with the help of Tyson Foods, Inc. The coop was designed by then FFA Sponsor, Chad Burkett, and is the brainchild of Sarah King, former BGO Project Coordinator. The coop features a corrugated metal roof, cedar siding, and a stained glass window. The design provides shelter for the chickens and visual access for visitors. This feature pays homage to the role poultry has played in the Ozarks’ history and economy.

Daylily Display Bed

Although it’s somewhat off the beaten path, guests can cross either bridge across the Streamside Trail to find the Daylily Display Bed. The Northwest Arkansas Daylily Society tends to these beds. They do all of the planting and upkeep, so that garden guests can see the wonderful blooms of their daylilies. Be sure to check out these beds during their bloom time, in June and July, where you will find all kinds of varieties, like the “Humungousaur,” “Sebastian on Steroids,” “A Little Twisted,” and so much more.

Great Lawn

The Great Lawn, dedicated to Ed and Diane Clement, is a 3/4 acre circular grassy area that is central to the Garden. It is planted with majority zoysia grass, with bermuda grass mixed in. The zoysia requires low input of fertilizer and due to its density, herbicides are used only sparingly. The Rose and Perennial Garden and Rotary Peace Arbor make up the landscaping around the south and west edges of the lawn. Sugar Maple trees surround the perimeter on the north and east sides. Guests gather on the lawn for weddings, large events, and concerts.

Klingaman Arboretum

Currently, the Klingaman Arboretum is outside of the Garden’s gates. To get to the arboretum, either drive south to the Lake Fayetteville Trailhead Parking lot or walk from the BGO parking lot across the Lake Fayetteville Trail bridge near the Wheeler Pinetum & Dwarf Conifer Collection. An arboretum is a living collection of trees and woody shrubs. It is intended to be a living library for members who want to learn more about a tree or shrub before planting it in their own garden. Guests can find a Magnolia Collection given by Phillip A. Thompson, a Maple Collection given by Dr. Al Einert, a Conifer Collection given by Libby Wheeler, and a White Oak Collection given by Jana Britton.

Lakeside Meadow

The expansion of the Lakeside Meadow was intended to expand the footprint of the formal garden space. This area is utilized for larger activities and events and provides a shady spot for our community partners and vendors. Before we start landscaping, we will need to plan strategically, as this is the closest area of the garden to Lake Fayetteville, and floods easily.

Nooncaster Entry Garden

As the first garden that visitors see, the Nooncaster Entry Garden consists of a mix of trees, shrubs, and flowers that serve to welcome visitors. The colors featured in this garden are intentionally planted to contrast each other, to pop, and to attract guests to venture into the garden gates. While many plants are annuals and are replaced seasonally, there are many staples that stay year-round, like the Barberry shrubs, Hydrangeas, Corniss moss, Weeping Redbud, and the Crabapple tree. This garden was donated in memory of Leslie Nooncaster by her sister and mother. Look for the path lined with empty glass bottles recycled from our signature Chefs in the Garden event.

Reading Railroad

The Reading Railroad was built as an innovative expansion of the Children’s Garden. It serves as an outdoor reading space for small groups to gather and listen to a story inside the amphitheater-shaped area. Gail Pianalto was the first to come up with the concept, Stuart Fulbright put those ideas to paper, and Eugene Sargent created the Reading Railroad sculpture. The Reading Railroad was donated by the Fayetteville Noon Kiwanis Club, which is an organization dedicated to local community service.

Rotary Peace Arbor

The centerpiece of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks is the Rotary Peace Arbor on the Great Lawn in the middle of the Rose & Perennial Garden. It is made from bald cypress logs and serves as a backdrop for concerts, weddings, and other garden events. Both the Rotary Peace Arbor and the Totemeier Event Hall are timber frame structures, meaning they don’t require any nails to complete the construction of the frame.

Chip Hammons, who designed the Rose & Perennial Garden, designed the original concept of the arbor with structural modifications by Zed Johnson with AFHJ Architects and Planners. The Arbor was built by Randy Ryan of Woodcraft Unlimited. Suzannah Garrison contributed funds for the stone floor and planting beds in honor of the late Elizabeth Esch, former BGO Event Coordinator.

Streamside Trail

The Streamside Trail is considered an extension of the Shade Garden, as it is mostly shaded. Some of the same plants are even featured in both areas. One unique feature of this point of interest is the collection of Barrenwort plants, which make for a wonderful groundcover in shady areas. Our collection features species like The Giant, Night Mistress, Pink Champagne, Lemon Drop, Sichuan, Wudang Star, Thunder Cloud, and Hollyleaf.

The name of the stream is Hylton Creek, which flows into Lake Fayetteville, and is part of the Illinois River Watershed. The “riparian zone” in the Garden is located in the area below the Streamside Trail and right above the water of Hylton Creek. This zone provides food and shelter for aquatic organisms and serves as a home to animals that move between the land and water, like insects and amphibians. The riparian zone also reduces erosion, filters pollutants, and regulates the flow of water from land to waterways.

Telephone of the Wind

The Telephone of the Wind is a phone for every guest who has lost a loved one. The phone is intended to be a healing tool for those who have messages they wish to share with their friends and family who have passed. Guests can make the longest of long-distance calls to say the goodbyes they never got to say within the privacy and support of nature. The Telephone of the Wind is dedicated in loving memory of Brock Gossett.

The Tyson Terrace

As guests first enter the Garden through the iron gates, they come upon the Tyson Terrace. The Tyson Terrace provides an outdoor event and gathering space at the Garden and is often used for the Garden’s signature events and private events, like weddings. The Terrace serves as a bridge between the outdoor garden space and the indoor space of the Event Hall. The beds located on the Tyson Terrace are meant to showcase seasonal blooms, so they are mostly annuals. The plants in these beds are rotated out three times per year, in the fall, winter/spring, and the summer. Guests can also find a lot of container gardening in this area. Donors include Tyson Foods, Inc., the Tyson Family Foundation, and Barbara Tyson.

Weather Station

We have a Weather Station inside of the Garden to monitor the specific microclimate of the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.

Check Current Weather Conditions

Wheeler Pinetum & Dwarf Conifer Collection

Even though the Wheeler Pinetum is outside of the garden gates, it is still part of the Garden! The plants in this garden were chosen because they are coniferous, meaning that they have needle-shaped or scalelike leaves, and are often evergreens such as pines and yews. This collection provides a noise buffer from traffic on Highway 265 (Crossover Road) and a privacy barrier for the Garden. Plantings consists of 70 trees and 30 different species. The dominant species is white pine, with blue spruce anchoring one end and Blue Limber Pine anchoring the other end. This garden was donated by Libby Wheeler in memory of her husband G. Laurin Wheeler. Dr. Wheeler was a professor of forestry in the Horticulture Department at the University of Arkansas.

The Dwarf Conifer Collection is housed within the Wheeler Pinetum. It was designed by Dr. John Colland and donated by Partners of the Americas, a non-profit organization linking the United States with people of Latin America. This gift honors Laurin Wheeler for his work with this organization. He spent years in Chile mapping the forest resources of that country.