Tulsa is growing a new garden - big time.

Look forward to the 2007 opening of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden that will crown 300 prime acres of the historic Osage Hills. The unique setting combines prime woodland with stunning views of the Tulsa skyline.

When complete, Tulsa's botanical garden will be the fourth largest in North America. It is expected to rival some of the nation’s most stellar showpiece gardens. The garden is anticipated to be a national attraction with an annual attendance of 400,000. Visitors will range from school children and local green thumbers seeking the latest in horticultural how-tos to tourists in search of a top- notch garden experience. Add educators and researchers and Tulsa will have a world-class botanical garden.

After five years of visioning, site-selecting and planning, officials for the non-profit entity officially kicked off a $40 million fund-raising drive in 2004. The garden is expected to open in 2007, the Sooner State's centennial year.

"There's a plan in place, and the response is overwhelming," says Pat Woodrum, interim executive director of the garden.

Nationally recognized landscape design firm Marshall Tyler Rausch of Pittsburgh will present the master plan for the garden in early 2005. The firm has been involved in more than 50 botanical gardens including the U.S. National Arboretum and the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.

In a 2004 visit to Tulsa, Geoffrey Rausch compared a botanical garden to a museum, only in the case of a garden, the masterpieces are living.

Rausch lauded the Osage Hills location. Too often, he said, land for new botanical gardens is undesirable, donated acreage that was passed over for residential and commercial development. Tulsa's site with its natural hills and valleys - plus its cityscape views - is a dream come true for a landscape designer.

The site for the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden, 5323 W. 31st. Street North, is seven miles northwest of downtown Tulsa. The property, formerly the Williams Learning Center, is now owned by the private investment group Persimmon Ridge, LLC., which operates the Post Oak Lodge, a conference center on the remaining 800 acres of the property. Persimmon Ridge provided the botanical garden property under a 99-year $1 lease.

The Oklahoma Centennial Garden won't just be a pretty place to wander. There will be research and educational aspects as well. Horticultural programs will be developed in conjunction with Oklahoma State University, Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Technology Center. Participation by other academic institutions is welcomed and will be explored in the near future.

There will be a visitors' center, a lake and a wide variety of gardens ranging from close-in landscaping to far-ranging "loop walks" encompassing the tranquility of the Osage Hills setting. The garden will be one of the largest in North America, trailing botanical gardens in only Chicago, Ann Arbor and Ontario in acreage.

Pivotal in the success of the garden will be the efforts of certified Master Gardeners, volunteers trained by OSU Cooperative Extension. Barry Fugatt, director of horticulture for the Tulsa Garden Center and former director of OSU Extension-Tulsa, anticipates that the number of Master Gardeners could double or triple to serve the needs of the botanical garden.

Woodrum said the Botanical Garden Board and an Honorary Advisory Board of community leaders are conducting fund raising. If you personally would like to help seed the growing of what promises to be Oklahoma's premier horticultural showplace, contact Woodrum at 728-2707.