- [Host] Oklahoma Gardening is a production of the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, as part of the land grant mission of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, dedicated to improving the quality of life of the citizens of Oklahoma through research-based information.

Underwriting assistance for our program is provided by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, helping to keep Oklahoma green and growing.

Today on the best of Oklahoma gardening, we are headed back to Tulsa to remember how beautiful Oklahoma gardens are during the summer.

Our first stop will be at the Tulsa Garden Center, where we learn about its history and the Butterfly Garden.

Then we head over to another great attraction, Gathering Place.

And finally we get a peak behind the gates of a private garden in Broken Arrow.

(cheery music) - It's almost like an ombre of sunset colors.

It's not the flowers, right?

(chuckles lightly) (music continues) (plant thuds and host laughs) (music continues then fades) - We are standing here in front of the beautiful mansion at the Tulsa Garden Center at Woodward Park.

And joining me today is Laura Chalus, who is the president of the Tulsa Garden Center.

Laura, thank you so much for having us here.

I have been here since I was a kid, and I think so many people have been to an event here or been to the gardens to visit.

But we don't necessarily maybe know the history.

Can you enlighten us a little bit about the history of the Tulsa Garden Center?

- Absolutely.

So the Garden Center was actually founded in 1950, so, many many decades ago.

We moved here to the Snedden mansion in 1954.

And we have been operating in Woodward Park as the longest standing managing partner of the city of Tulsa for all those years.

- [Host] Wow.

Excellent.

So it houses, not just gardens, but tell us all the activity that's going on here.

- Well, the unique thing about the Tulsa Garden Center is that we house 19 other non-profit organizations.

So that's why we say we are the horticultural hub of Tulsa.

- Absolutely.

- We have the Orchid Society, the Rose Society, the Perennial Club, African Violet Society.

You name it, we have a society.

So that's the unique aspect.

- And I know, actually, as a kid, I would come here with my mom to some of these different society groups and stuff.

And also so many people have weddings and senior photos taken.

You had beautiful azaleas blooming a few weeks ago.

Tell us a little bit about what all the property encompasses as well.

- So Woodward Park is just over 44 acres, and as the managing partner, the Tulsa Garden Center manages all of the permits.

So the photography permits when people come to take their prom photos, the event permits if they wanted to get married out in the park or have a graduation ceremony or a class reunion.

But then inside the mansion, we have big weddings, and that helps fund all of the fun horticultural aspects that we do.

- And if people have never been inside the mansion, tell us a little bit about what we can find inside that mansion.

- The mansion was built in 1920, so we are well over a hundred years old.

And it's, as much as we can, we keep with the original look and feel that the family who built the mansion, the Travis family, and it's just gorgeous.

- It is absolutely, it still has some of the original bathrooms that you can go in and different things.

So let's talk a little bit, I know you guys are so involved in the community with education.

Tell me a little bit about how people can get involved and what are some of those programs, whether it's a society or something that's being offered at the Teaching Garden.

- So yes, we definitely have a lot going on.

A lot of ways to volunteer.

So almost exclusively the park is managed by volunteers.

That's for our programs.

So we have our Teaching Garden and Visitor Center that you can volunteer for that.

That's a more intensive program, you know, 12 weeks worth of instructional training.

We have community volunteers that can just come and volunteer in the park.

We have students that come.

So just all across the board.

And then, if you wanna get involved in a plant society, those are free.

You just come to a Perennial Club meeting, and you see what you like, and you mesh with the people, and then you come back.

- And we can't forget the plant sales and shows that are housed here a lot of times.

- Yes.

Between the Perennial Club, let's see, last weekend there was a cacti sale.

The weekend before that, it was the Perennial Club sale.

So there is always a sale.

The Bonsai Society just, it goes on and on.

- And so if people just wanna come and get information or stroll the gardens, that is all free and open seven days a week?

- Yeah.

This is a public park, so almost everything is 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM.

Except for the little area, you know, the behind the teaching garden.

And since that's such a high touch area, we close those gates at four o'clock.

- [Host] Right.

Well, I know this area has a lot of rich history with the Tulsa area and the Tulsa community.

What's up on the horizon?

Tell us a little bit about where the future is with the gardens here.

- Woodward Park, our board of directors is really looking at a sustainable model for the park, for all the historic structures.

So we're looking at incorporating endowment funds and doing some big restoration projects.

Right now we're working on a restoration for the arboretum.

Which was a 1964 project of the Tulsa Garden Center.

We went through a restoration in the late eighties, and now you know, 30 years later, we need to do another one.

So we're excited that we just kicked that project off.

- All right.

Well thank you so much for having us out here and sharing that history with us.

(gentle guitar strumming) Today, we are here at the Teaching Garden at Woodward Park.

And if you haven't been here in a while- - There are a lot of things going on, including this butterfly garden that we're standing in.

Today, joining us is Andy Fusco, who is the director of horticulture here.

Andy, thanks so much for having us out.

- Thanks for coming.

- The summer is heating up, right?

(laughs) - Yeah, it's a quick summer.

- And so, we've got butterflies flying all around us and I just love this beautiful butterfly garden that you have here.

And of course, it's just getting started in the season, so things're gonna warm up, - Yep.

- but, tell us a little bit about what went into the thought process of developing a butterfly garden.

- Well, all our gardens here at the Teaching Garden showcase what people can do in their own homes.

And about seven years ago, this piece of real estate outside of the gates came available.

And one of the more popular things that's kind of coming about is people're really interested in gardening for insects, and contributing to their local ecological health.

- [Casey] Absolutely, so, what're some of those things that we need to be providing to those pollinators and insects?

- So there's three big things.

You want food sources for the caterpillars; you want nectar sources, so the flowers, for the adult butterflies and bees; and then you want places that they can overwinter and stay warm throughout the winter.

- [Casey] And a lot of times that one in particular people don't think about.

- Yeah.

- So we clean out the garden, right?

(chuckles) - Right, and people think about the monarch butterfly.

Now, they migrate, but most of our native insects and pollinators will hibernate over winter in our own yards.

- All right, so what're some of the plants that fit those categories for us, here?

- So, one of the ones that a lot of people will know is our milkweed, and that's the forging source for the caterpillar of the monarch.

And so, we have two or three different types of milkweed in this garden.

So we've got some African varieties of Gomphocarpus, and then some native varieties like swamp milkweed, Asclepias syriaca.

Anything that flowers, really, is gonna be a great nectar food source for the adult bees and butterflies, just like this Amsonia, here, even though the flowers appear small, and it's still a beautiful plant to us.

Different-sized pollinators're gonna find those flowers and really enjoy the taste of them.

- Right.

And I think a lotta times, the flower's the important part.

But we want things eating our vegetation in here, right?

That's the forage that you're talking about with caterpillars.

- Yes, so for so long we thought, like, "Oh, we don't want any bugs on our plants, 'cause otherwise they're gonna be ugly.

- Right.

- But the whole point, in this garden at least, is for the caterpillars and the other bugs to be eating our plants, and be a part of one big ecosystem.

- Right, and so, a lot of those finer-leaf foliage plants, like fennel and dill, or some parsley, I think, are some of the good ones?

- Yeah.

- Your herbs, right?

(laughs) - Yeah, just like we find them tasty, the caterpillars do too.

So we've got bronze fennel in here, we've got some rue, we've got dill.

We have Italian parsley and curly leaf parsley, and those're favorites of the swallowtail.

- [Casey] It's literally a smorgasbord for them here.

- Yes.

Yeah.

- And so, what about some of those overwintering plants that you mentioned're important?

- So we have some native grasses, specifically a Northwind switchgrass, that they look pretty in the winter before you cut them back.

And actually, the caterpillars, that last generation of caterpillar in the winter will crawl down in the grasses and spend the entire winter there.

And that gives them enough shelter from the cold winds and whatnot to make it so that they last until the next spring.

- Okay, well, I know a lot of pollinator gardens also usually incorporate some sort of moisture source for those, do you have that as well here?

- Yeah, so we have what we call ponding stations.

So our crafting volunteers actually built these.

They're made out of a little dish, like you would put under a pot, and they've got a little gravel in there.

And as you're watering, or when the rain, it collects some water.

Because, you know, all animals need some water.

- Right.

- Some of our rock features also were selected, when this garden was designed, so that they would hold water after the rain or after a watering.

- [Casey] Okay, so it's not like you have to bring in a whole water garden or anything, just kinda create - No.

- those depressions somewhere - Right, - For them.

- you don't want them so big that then they're promoting one of our not-so-favorite insects, mosquitoes.

- Right, absolutely.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- [Casey] So your title is, you know, the Teaching Garden, here.

Tell me a little bit about some of the programs that happen, and the education that might happen in this garden.

- So it's a little twofold.

It's teaching, in the sense that any member of the public can come see us Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 to 4:00.

And all throughout the garden, there's different areas that you can look at and figure out, maybe you have a sunny spot or a shady spot or you wanna put a vegetable garden in, or an herb garden.

You can come here and get ideas for your own yard.

But it's also mostly maintained by volunteers.

And these volunteers don't just show up one day and dig in the dirt.

They go through multi-week trainings.

And so, this fall we'll be relaunching our training program, and our volunteers will go through almost 70 hours of training.

And then they give us time back as a trade-off for that.

- Well, it's a beautiful garden, here, and I would encourage anybody that's in the Tulsa area to come over here to the Teaching Garden at Woodward Park to enjoy the beauty.

Thank you so much, Andy.

- Thanks, Casey.

(calm music) - Today we are here at Gathering Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

And joining me today is Stacie Martin, who is the director of horticulture and operations.

Stacie thank you so much for having us today.

- Yeah, thank you.

- It's a beautiful park, and there's so much going on.

Tell us a little bit about the horticulture aspect of it.

- Yeah, so many people may have been to Gathering Place for some of our amazing playgrounds, and some of our amazing events.

But we actually have a really awesome landscape as well.

It's designed to be.

- [Speaker] wild replica of some of Oklahoma's native ecosystems and has very sustainable perennial displays.

Starting an adventure play, one of our most popular areas, we have 300 trees that are original to this property that we spent a good amount of time figuring out how to preserve and how to protect and how to maintain their health.

We then planted 6,000 additional trees.

And as gardeners, we all love trees.

We love the shade they provide.

We love the ecosystems and the birds that the trees support.

And we also really love, like, the storm water benefits and carbon sequestration.

- Absolutely.

And so, I mean, trees are just one aspect of the whole ecosystem that you've created here.

So behind us is the, kind of, the native area too.

- Yes.

Behind us we've got Peggy's Pond.

And we've got our wetland gardens.

Our wetland gardens is a way for the pond water to cycle through the gardens and filter out some of the pollution.

We got a lot of red winged black birds and we get a lot of herons around here.

And when you're at the pond, one of the most popular activities is to feed the fish.

- So tell us a little bit too, as we venture further in because this is kind of at the entrance as we venture further into the park.

I know it sort of represents the ecology of the whole state.

- Yep.

- How does that played out?

- So if you've driven down riverside and you've seen some of our wildflowers, we have 16 acres of prairie.

We've got short grass prairie.

We've got tall grass prairie, and you know, monarchs are recently declared endangered by the IUCN.

So we're always planting milkweed.

We can't wait to see our monarch migration come through in September and October.

- [Person] That's awesome.

- Some other areas, you know, for your more traditional garden spaces, your more colored displays.

One of my favorite places to visit is Sky Garden.

Sky Garden has a number of different plants.

They're always something in color.

It overlooks the Arkansas River and all of the species are perennial.

So it's a really beautiful place.

- [Person] So it's a really great place to come as a gardener - Yeah.

- and kind of see what I need to plant in my garden to keep that season going throughout the year.

- Yes, exactly It's a great place to come and learn about different species.

We have over 400 species here so there's something new for everybody.

- And I know there's also an area that kind of represents southeastern Oklahoma.

- Tell us a little bit about that.

- Oh, yeah.

We have this pine palm area that replicates some of the pine Palm Gulch in southeastern Oklahoma.

One of the most cold hardy palms is from McCurtain County and we have those underneath some of our loblolly pines.

So it's really like you're in another world almost.

- [Person] (chuckle) - It absolutely feels like that when you're walking through here.

You can travel the state in one day.

- [Speaker] Yep.

Yep.

- How long do you think a person should kind of plan to be here if they're just walking through the park?

- I'd say a couple of hours.

Even if you're not planning on the playgrounds because you can go to the different areas of the park.

You can stop in the boathouse, you can stop in the lodge and kind of take the cooling off time.

Or warming up time - [Person] Yes.

(chuckles) - [Speaker] in the winter.

(chuckles) and you get a really different vista and a different view from all of those areas as well.

- Well, and there's actually a lot of topography, right?

- So we're right now, kind of low on the lake here.

- Yep.

- But you can get high up onto some oversights and things like that.

There's a lot of geography, topography.

- Yeah.

- And then also just the materials that are used in the design.

The rocks and the wood.

Tell us a little bit about all of that.

- So the site was originally flat and so the landscape architect worked really hard to create some interesting areas.

And I'm telling you, the hills are one of the most popular play elements for some of the kids as well.

People love running up and down the hills but we've got these rolling lawn areas.

We have this garden called Four Seasons, which is a rock garden and it's got rock columns.

And that's really a replica of like Chandler Park.

- [Person] Yeah.

There's a lot of that exposed rock.

And I don't know a gardener that doesn't also appreciate rock in the garden.

(laughs) - Right.

Right.

Yeah, exactly.

- So definitely, you've got a lot of wildlife that kind of comes in here with the birds and the insects, and the people too.

(chuckles) - Yeah, yeah.

(chuckles) Yeah.

We really take big efforts to kind of maintain that as well.

For example, during the winter, we stagger our cut back so our prairies don't all get cut back at the same time, because we wanna provide habitat for some of the native pollinators, the native insects, the native bees, even so much as the cattails.

Our staff prefers to cut them back when it's still warm out.

And I definitely agree that it is much nicer then but we do leave select areas up because it's such good habitat to have that diversity.

- [Person] That's important.

- [Speaker] Yeah.

- And I know as a gardener that comes here, they're probably gonna ask, "What's the favorite time to come or the best season?"

Is there a best season?

- I don't know.

(Person chuckles) - Like, I'm still learning that.

Every season has become my favorite because fall, we have such wonderful fall color - [Person] Uh-huh.

- and we've got all of the fall nectar plants in bloom.

And you do have that monarch migration come through.

It's a really spectacular time.

But once like May and June hit, all the wildflowers are in.

- And that's 16 acres- - [Host] Wow.

- You know of lush, green wild.

So that in itself is spectacular.

But, you know, summer is just so nice to be outside, and we've got all of those summer-blooming plants.

So really, you can't go wrong.

- All right.

Well, where could people find more information?

Not only about the horticulture, but just all the other events that are going on?

You have boat rentals at different times of years.

- Yes, yep.

- And and all the other stuff.

- [Stacy] We have boat rentals in September and October, and I'd find more of that on the website.

Definitely check it before you come.

You can learn more about specific hours for activities, and you can learn more about the parking and events that we have going on.

- Okay.

- It's also a great resource because we have a self-guided horticulture tour, we have a tutorial flower guide, and we have a blog that I update as often as possible.

- Okay, and best part, admission to just get in here is free.

- It's free!

Yep, exactly.

So come enjoy the 400 species, come learn something new and experience the park in a different way than you may have expected.

- You can't beat it.

- Yeah.

- Thank you so much, Stacy.

Appreciate you joining us.

- Thank you.

(relaxing guitar music) - Today we are in Broken Arrow at Brent and Suzanne Geubelle's home, and I have to say, when I was driving through this neighborhood, Brent, I knew which house we were stopping at, because this is just an explosion of color.

Well, thank you.

(host laughs) - You're welcome.

- You've got beautiful hydrangeas and so many beautiful flowers.

Tell me a little bit about kind of your planting style.

- Well, summer, winter, and fall basically.

And I have all the pansies, and tulips, and daffodils coming up.

And then when they start looking the best, I rip them all out and then put in my summer annuals, and water and weed.

That's what a lot of people do.

- You've got a lot of annuals, but I have to say, so we're at the end of July here, and it's impressive how well your garden's looking with these 100-degree temperatures that we're having.

Any secrets other than watering?

- Well, I use a lot of Osmocote, - Okay.

- You know, a time-release fertilizer.

But other than that, it's kind of luck of the draw, I think.

You know, some of it makes it, some of it don't.

I just move it around where it's the happiest.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Well you gotta, you were mentioning kind of your seasons your garden goes through.

And if it's this impressive in July, I can only imagine what it looks like in spring and fall.

But tell me a little bit about some of those plants that you have that really will take off more in the spring, and the summer, fall- - Okay.

- and even in the wintertime you've got some stuff tucked away.

- Yeah, yeah.

I got the Candy Corn Spirea, and it turns a really bright yellow.

And we put in a lot of violas, like in the wheelbarrow area and stuff like that.

And then last year I grew a bunch of corn.

- Okay.

- And then used it for fall.

- [Host] Yeah, right.

- You know, in different places.

My wife's real good at that, Suzanne.

- And I noticed you've got even tomatoes tucked in- - I do.

- mums tucked in.

- I got a little small greenhouse, and I run outta room, so I just kind of stick it where the sun will shine.

(host laughing) You know, and literally, and let it grow.

And- - Well it looks like one of your kind of tricks is to really cover and fill in every little spot so you don't have as weeds.

- Exactly.

Best you can, yeah.

You know, Bermuda is really tough this time.

It's so hot.

It likes the heat.

But it's real easy to pull out 'cause it grows are a long- - Yeah.

- Leggy, you know, so.

- You kind of have a small footprint of a yard here?

- I do, yeah.

- But you've even tucked in a little lean-to greenhouse on the side.

- I do.

I got a little one back there, yeah.

That's where I start all my plants and stuff.

- Okay.

- A lot of the annuals I get in the spring, but- - You've also got some gladiolas that are still coming on.

- I do.

- Like, tell me a little bit about what you do with your glads.

- Well, the glads, what I do is I stagger 'em.

You plant 'em in the spring and then once I put down like the first hundred bulbs, and then I'll wait two weeks and put down another hundred bulbs in with them.

And then another two weeks, another hundred bulbs, and then whatever I have dug up from last year.

And then they bloom all summer long that way.

It's not a full giant flash- - Right.

- All at once.

But it staggers it.

And then I got other stuff coming on like the Zenias and that kind of stuff.

- So you actually dig them up every year- - I dig them up.

- So that you can replant them.

- The ones I like, the ones I can remember where they're at, yeah.

(host laughing) - Well, you've got a lot squeezed in your front yard, just looking at your yard.

And I love how it transitions to the shade as you get closer to your doorway there as well.

I can't wait, can we go take a look at the backyard?

- Absolutely.

- All right, thank you, let's go.

- [Brent] Okay.

- Brent, I don't know how you squeeze so much in.

You've got a lot back here.

And it's a fairly, like I said, smaller backyard.

- Right.

- And a little bit of a, not just your typical square backyard either.

So you're taking advantage of every square foot.

- [Brent] Trying to, yeah.

- [Host] It looks like, so this bed's maybe three feet deep.

But you have taken advantage of the vertical element here.

- [Brent] Yeah, we're trying to kind of cover up the fence and block some of the neighbor houses, you know?

- Yeah.

- And some of the sound.

- [Host] And you've even squeezed in more trees with your Vitex here.

- [Guest] Yeah, the butterflies and insects really love this thing when it's in full bloom.

- [Casey] Oh, I bet.

- [Guest] And it, it grows like a weed, it grows fast.

- So you like birds, right?

- Yeah.

Every year I gotta add a house, 'cause I keep getting more and more martins.

- Yeah?

- And they're having a little trouble this year, 'cause the babies're getting too hot in the nests and they're jumping out.

- Oh no!

- So they're having to feed them on the ground.

But most of them's already left.

And I'll take all those down in the winter - and put them up, - Okay.

- and then put them back up in February and here they come again.

They're flying around.

And then I've got this little... - Is this for your dog?

- Yeah, yeah.

- I was gonna ask about that!

- He thinks it's his, he digs it up every, he's just a puppy.

That's Mr. Bentley.

- Okay.

- But the sparrows, this's one of the best things we ever put in, this.. We like sparrows, 'cause they built a lot of houses around here, and they killed a lot of our woodlands.

So we don't get all the pretty birds that we want.

We do get cardinals, and we had a bunting once.

We get ducks.

Lot of mallards, they'll come back here and land, and I feed them corn.

And then in my water pond, I get herrings that eat my fish.

- Wow!

- But anyway, the sparrows, they love to take sun baths, or sand baths in this thing.

Sometimes that thing would be just totally covered, and then they just fight over the holes they dig.

And we just sit on our couch thing, there, and watch them all play.

- Just enjoy them playing.

- Yeah, we enjoy.

That's what it's all about.

The insects... - You've got, you know, your bird bath, here.

But I think that's a feature sometimes people don't think about for birds, is the dust bath - Right.

- that they like.

- I try to tell people, "Put in a dust pit or something," you know, "because that they love that thing."

Especially in the hotter, the better.

- Well you've got a lot of vertical elements that I'm sure the birds're liking.

Even the honeysuckle vine you've got growing.

How's that being supported, there?

- Well, I got an old wagon wheel I found, and put it up on some stakes and tied it to the house, and kinda overhang.

Now it's turning into the big kind of ball now, but... (Casey laughs) - When we talk about gardening and design, we always talk about having those little spaces to kinda discover.

And you've definitely done this in a smaller yard, here.

So not only the water garden, but also...

I mean, it's hot, right?

(laughs) - It's hot.

- So you have a little respite here.

- Yeah, we got a little umbrella.

It's really cool, a lot cooler down here at night.

The South Carolina jasmine will grow over this whole entire thing, and it'll be the prettiest yellow in the spring.

You know, we gotta have all the different colors.

- Yeah.

- And it's a bird magnet.

- [Casey] And I assume the sunflowers're for the birds, is that- - They are, they are.

I grow them, I kinda start them and plant them at different times.

- So tell me, I mean, obviously you clearly love gardening.

What's your favorite aspect of all this?

- Well, I like to share it with people.

We don't get a lot of people, but in the front yard, they'll... People walk on the sidewalks all the time, and if I'm out there working, they'll stop and they...

It's a conversation piece and they...

I give them cut flowers, the ladies, and they all really enjoy it.

And I've had them knock on the door and the kids wanted tulips, you know.

- Oh!

- and gave them all tulips, and that's what we enjoy.

- Sharing your garden.

- And for the insects and for the birds.

- Well, thank you so much for sharing your garden with us - Okay.

- and all of our viewers today.

It's just beautiful.

- Well, thank you very much.

(energetic upbeat music) - [Casey] Pecans're a favorite this time of year.

Join us next week as we take a closer look at one of Oklahoma's most popular horticulture crops.

(energetic upbeat music continues) (upbeat music) Ready?

- Woo!

(laughs) - [Speaker] That's a blast.

- [Casey] To find out more information about show topics, as well as recipes, videos, articles, fact sheets, and other resources, including a directory of local extension offices, be sure to visit our website at oklahomagardening.okstate.edu.

Join in on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can find this entire show, and other recent shows, as well as individual segments on our "Oklahoma Gardening" YouTube channel.

Tune in to our "OK Gardening Classics" YouTube channel to watch segments from previous hosts.

(button clicks) "Oklahoma Gardening" is produced by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service as part of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University.

The Botanic Garden at OSU's home to our studio gardens, and we encourage you to come visit this beautiful Stillwater gem.

We would like to thank our generous underwriter, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Additional support is also provided by Pond Pro Shop, Greenleaf Nursery, and the Garden Debut Plants, the Tulsa Garden Center at Woodward Park, the Oklahoma Horticultural Society, Smart Pot, and the Tulsa Garden Club.

(upbeat music continues)