From yesterday:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/myriad022021.jpg

They did this intentionally; on a previous St. Patrick's Day it was done by pranksters and some of the wildlife was harmed.

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Makes sense, do it on purpose with something that will be harmless. Festive and heads off the potential pranks.

Doesn't *quite* match the ambiance of when Chicago and Savannah do it, though.

16776

Taken from BOK Park Plaza yesterday.

They did this intentionally; on a previous St. Patrick's Day it was done by pranksters and some of the wildlife was harmed.

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The prankster from a few years ago is looking down with approval. RIP, Jim.

https://twitter.com/myriadgardens/status/1382672325678551040?s=21

I'm sure it has been in the works for a while, but it would have been nice if they could have timed the Crystal Bridge renovations to occur during the acute phase of the pandemic.

Press release:

***********

EPIC! Plant Sale of Crystal Bridge Conservatory Plants, Saturday, May 29

Oklahoma City, OK -- Shop for a small piece of Crystal Bridge Conservatory history and benefit Myriad Botanical Gardens on Saturday, May 29. Our EPIC! plant sale will be held on the west side of the Conservatory. Members of the Gardens get FIRST PICK from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The sale will then open to the public from noon to 5 p.m. This sale for those plants that will not be transferred to the new interior after its renovation. Hundreds of plants both large and small will be sold including tropicals suitable for houseplants like anthuriums, calatheas, philodendrons and clivias, as well as desert and succulent plants such as aloe, agaves, kalanchoe and cacti.

Cuttings of dozens of species will also be available, so guests will have an opportunity to buy a literal piece of Oklahoma City history. Social Greenery will be on hand selling pots both large and small and providing guests the opportunity to pot their plants up onsite. Larger pots from Calvert’s Plant Interiors will also be available for purchase. Staff of the Gardens horticulture department will available to answer questions and provide growing tips.


Crystal Bridge Conservatory Complete Renovation Project
For the first time in its 30-plus year history, the Crystal Bridge Conservatory in Myriad Botanical Gardens will undergo a complete renovation of its interior spaces. Among the many upgrades designed to enhance visitor experience are a new path layouts, educational exhibits, improved ADA accessibility and a new gift shop. Additional features of the $9.7 million project include improvements to the Conservatory’s interior aging infrastructure, a more diverse plant collection with both permanent and rotating exhibits, as well as new and enhanced water elements, circulation paths, and sitting areas. A second level terrace feature will overlook the conservatory and add much-needed educational programming and venue space. Improved accessibility, including an elevator, will enable people for all ages and physical abilities to fully enjoy the space. Expected reopening timeline is fall 2022.

Free and open to the public, Myriad Botanical Gardens provides 15 acres of ornamental gardens and grounds that include a children’s garden and carousel, native prairie garden, shade gardens, tree and shrub collections, lake with terraced gardens and a diverse collection of ornamental flowering perennials and grasses.


The Gardens offer a variety of horticultural educational programs for all ages ranging from lectures, classes, workshops and walking tours to seasonal festivals. The grounds also feature The Crystal Bridge Conservatory, home to thousands of tropical and desert plants. (Currently closed through fall 2022 for renovation). With more than 500,000 visitors annually, the Gardens is managed by Myriad Gardens Foundation, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that partners with corporate and community groups to enhance the educational, aesthetic, cultural and economic development of Oklahoma City.

^^^ Pete thanks for that link I’m definitely going and probably will buy some plants.

PS, the theatre is back open. I have not yet seen anything here but I need to go check out a play and I will do just that this summer:

https://kfor.com/news/great-state/the-theatre-is-open-a-new-troupe-starts-summer-productions-in-okc-at-just-the-right-time/

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Pumpkinville opens tomorrow (Friday).

The lake is temporarily low for maintenance.

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great pics ..... as always

As great as Scissortail Park is, Myriad Gardens is still #1 in OKC if not the country (still).

As great as Scissortail Park is, Myriad Gardens is still #1 in OKC if not the country (still).

When I went to a ULI Fall Meeting in San Francisco, the Myriad Gardens won an international award against pretty stout competition. I'm pretty sure Devon Tower won an award there as well. It was a significant moment of civic pride for me.

You can see in that 2nd photo that the Crystal Bridge is completely emptied out as renovation continues.

Should look very different when complete.

India food and arts festival taking place October 24th:

https://www.ifafok.com/

Great pictures!

I bet if you showed that bottom picture, with the gardens and the density of buildings behind it, to anyone in another not state not familiar with OKC, they would be very surprised it was Oklahoma City.

^ exactly.

The second to last appears even more dense and if a person didn't know they might well assume it to be built up like New York or Chicago.

and also, if OKC had some natural features beyond just flat prairie (like a mountain/hill or prominent water feature) that they'd also say how beautiful OKC really is. Which brings my thought that OKC needs to go above and beyond with code enforcement, landscaping/sidewalking, and beautification of neighborhoods.

^ exactly.

The second to last appears even more dense and if a person didn't know they might well assume it to be built up like New York or Chicago.

and also, if OKC had some natural features beyond just flat prairie (like a mountain/hill or prominent water feature) that they'd also say how beautiful OKC really is. Which brings my thought that OKC needs to go above and beyond with code enforcement, landscaping/sidewalking, and beautification of neighborhoods.

Don’t get me started on code violation. That office really is too lenient. It takes several reports before they actually see the violation on properties sometimes. And even then they mark it as no violation when it is a textbook definition of a code violation at times

I have long advocated a massive tree-planting initiative along roadways, highways etc only to be told that trees “don’t survive well in Oklahoma weather.” These pictures would suggest the opposite.

I have long advocated a massive tree-planting initiative along roadways, highways etc only to be told that trees “don’t survive well in Oklahoma weather.” These pictures would suggest the opposite.

Trees do well in Oklahoma. Just gotta water them and care for them. My neighborhood is prime example of that. Everyone else has sticks from when houses were built whereas my tree is massive already because I care for it

I have long advocated a massive tree-planting initiative along roadways, highways etc only to be told that trees “don’t survive well in Oklahoma weather.” These pictures would suggest the opposite.

Not sure who told you trees won't grow in Oklahoma. There are trees all over. There are some types of trees that don't do well here... can't plant Palm Trees. If you match trees to the ground and the climate then they are fine. You just can't plant and ignore trees, but that is mostly true anywhere.

Here is an example we can benchmark a positive about our sister city: Tulsa is beautiful not only because of the land changes but also because they too went on a tree planting spree. Tulsa gets the same weather as OKC, only a few more inches of rain than here. So I don't know why OKC officials take the stance like OKC is Albuquerque or something. ..

Come on OKC - let's get an official tree planting and landscaping initiative going (that's not MAPS). And btw, also fund maintenance and watering of trees - THEN people's opinion about OKC being trashy looking or dirty will come to an end just like our sister has shown us.

OKC tree study done in 2016

https://www.okc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/6890/636253614873670000

(apologies if it's already been posted)



But also, since we're on the topic, buy a tree from MBG: https://oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/tree-for-all-presented-by-cox-saturday-november-6/

I like what is done at this interchange in Wichita:
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.6796032,-97.280481,3a,43.1y,269.9h,89.99t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZtiCpuH6i-OGe1K8iaEwJA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Kind of off topic but Wichita is really growing on me as an underrated city. I’ve been going more and more on my trips I’ll make to Colorado and Utah from OKC and each time I’ll stop and I’ve been staying in Wichita for a day or two at a time and always find fun and new stuff to do.

Will be nice to be able to visit by rail soon-ish-I-hope

Kind of off topic but Wichita is really growing on me as an underrated city. I’ve been going more and more on my trips I’ll make to Colorado and Utah from OKC and each time I’ll stop and I’ve been staying in Wichita for a day or two at a time and always find fun and new stuff to do.

I'm actually a big fan of Wichita. Lots of empty store fronts still but Olde Town is nice and it's overall a cool downtown area and the eastside with all the old houses is also cool.

Old town looked like a bigger version of Bricktown. There’s a cigar shop that I’ve been hitting up with a cool lounge. It’s owned by a Vietnamese lady IIRC. Really nice vibes there but the winters suuuuuck. Cozy Inn burgers in Salina though is usually the reason I’ll head north but I-70 in western Kansas puts me to sleep.

Talk to Chad (Urbanized); he is a wealth of knowledge on so many things and one of them is the Wichita area IIRC.

Talk to Chad (Urbanized); he is a wealth of knowledge on so many things and one of them is the Wichita area IIRC.
It’ll be really cool to take a train up there one day.

Cool little video about the renovations that show the interior and show some of the plans for the space.

https://youtu.be/qXzUdkb46K4

Cool little video about the renovations that show the interior and show some of the plans for the space.

https://youtu.be/qXzUdkb46K4

Thank you for sharing. It’s crazy to see an empty Crystal Bridge!

Cool little video about the renovations that show the interior and show some of the plans for the space.

https://youtu.be/qXzUdkb46K4

I enjoyed this, thank you.

The Twitter account for the gardens posted a thread with some in-progress pictures of the renovation work: https://twitter.com/myriadgardens/status/1478773492137009153

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIWop0mXIAIk3c_?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIWtj99WUAUga3T?format=jpg&name=large

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIWuBP8XwAApHQw?format=png&name=900x900

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIWuBP-WYAETSe3?format=png&name=900x900

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FIWv8kIWYAUB2NL?format=jpg&name=medium

Some more pictures and a video are in the thread.

Pumpkinville kicks off this Friday (https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=844-Pumpkinville-kicks-off-this-Friday)

The pumpkin mural has been installed on the water stage of the Myriad Gardens and the annual Pumpkinville will start Friday and run until October 23rd.


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Pumpkinville is the garden's largest annual festival and features displays of over 30,000 pumpkins, gourds, haystacks and mums.

Also crafts, face painting, classes, a dog parade, and other activities.



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Crystal Bridge to reopen after $11 million renovation (https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=864-Crystal-Bridge-to-reopen-after-11-million-renovation)

After an $11 million complete renovation, the Crystal Bridge at the Myriad Gardens will reopen on Friday, November 18th.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/myriad111322e.jpg


The indoor botanical garden first opened in 1988 and is now completely transformed with all types of tropical plants, including pineapples, mangos and limes.

The Crystal Bridge Conservatory is 224 feet long, 70 feet in diameter, and is covered by 3,028 sections of translucent, double-layered acrylic panels. The Conservatory includes 13,000 square feet of plant display area in two distinct climates: Tropical Wet Zone and the Tropical Dry Zone at the north end.

There is also a two-level waterfall at the entrance and a staircase that provides views from the 2nd level and a renovated sky bridge that spans the length of the structure.

Other features include a multi-purpose classroom and a new gift shop.

The Crystal Bridge will be open Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM.

Admission is Adult: $10.50, Senior: $ 4, Student: $7, Youth (5-17 years): $5.50. There are also annual memberships and group discounts available.



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With all the newer plants, the whole thing looks so empty now. I wonder how many years it will take for everything to grow and fill back in.

With all the newer plants, the whole thing looks so empty now. I wonder how many years it will take for everything to grow and fill back in.

I agree. One of my favorite things about this place was the feeling you could vanish inside it, even if there were other people around.

Article from VeloCity: https://www.velocityokc.com/blog/inside-okc/crystal-bridge-conservatory-reopens-at-myriad-botanical-gardens/?back=super_blog

Pumpkinville starts today (Friday) and runs through 10/22. Open daily 10am to 5pm.

It's the gardens' largest festival.


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The garden looks so good up against Sheridan. Can't wait for the lots to the south to be put to better use

Outstanding picks Pete, thanks for sharing.

centre stage needs more events, it is very underutilized in my opinion.

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Wow!!! Amazing pic, Pete!

Thank you!

I was all over downtown on Saturday night starting about 4:30.

There were people everywhere... Lines out the Bricktown restaurants, tons of people in both parks, high school kids going to Christmas formals, FNC was so jammed you could barely walk through.

If you ever want to feel how far OKC has come (or just get into the Holiday spirit), talk a long walk through downtown this time of year. It's particularly beautiful at dusk.

I was all over downtown on Saturday night starting about 4:30.

There were people everywhere... Lines out the Bricktown restaurants, tons of people in both parks, high school kids going to Christmas formals, FNC was so jammed you could barely walk through.

If you ever want to feel how far OKC has come (or just get into the Holiday spirit), talk a long walk through downtown this time of year. It's particularly beautiful at dusk.

Midtown pop-ups were also pretty full Sat afternoon, first time we'd been there in a while, had no idea it had gotten so much bigger, very nice!

I had approximately 40 people from my company fly in from all around the country and stay for a week at First National. For 99% of them, it was their first time in OKC. They were blown away by First National ("the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in") and were equally impressed by the Myriad Gardens ("had no idea OKC had things like this"). They also went to a Thunder game and absolutely loved it. A few decided to stay an extra day to go see more of the city (i.e., outside of downtown). The biggest question I received was, "How do you guys keep the city so clean?"

I had approximately 40 people from my company fly in from all around the country and stay for a week at First National. For 99% of them, it was their first time in OKC. They were blown away by First National ("the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in") and were equally impressed by the Myriad Gardens ("had no idea OKC had things like this"). They also went to a Thunder game and absolutely loved it. A few decided to stay an extra day to go see more of the city (i.e., outside of downtown). The biggest question I received was, "How do you guys keep the city so clean?"

Love hearing stuff like this. Thank you for sharing that! Also the more I travel around the U.S. the more I understand why people are impressed (especially about the cleanliness of the city lol)

I was all over downtown on Saturday night starting about 4:30.

There were people everywhere... Lines out the Bricktown restaurants, tons of people in both parks, high school kids going to Christmas formals, FNC was so jammed you could barely walk through.

If you ever want to feel how far OKC has come (or just get into the Holiday spirit), talk a long walk through downtown this time of year. It's particularly beautiful at dusk.

Oh, I would LOVE if someone would take pics or film through downtown. ...

I had approximately 40 people from my company fly in from all around the country and stay for a week at First National. For 99% of them, it was their first time in OKC. They were blown away by First National ("the nicest hotel we've ever stayed in") and were equally impressed by the Myriad Gardens ("had no idea OKC had things like this"). They also went to a Thunder game and absolutely loved it. A few decided to stay an extra day to go see more of the city (i.e., outside of downtown). The biggest question I received was, "How do you guys keep the city so clean?"

That's fantastic to hear.

For those that don't know, Downtown OKC pays for the Green Team that focuses on the central districts and that's the reason our downtown area always looks considerably better than everywhere else.

I am usually DT on Sunday mornings for photography and you always see these hard-working people out there making sure downtown is ready for another day of thousands of people. The mess left behind after a big night in Bricktown or the CBD is considerable and yet few people ever see it.


I urge everyone to make it a point to go downtown during the holidays. It's like all the great things accomplished here are on display all at once and it's also fantastic to get out and rub shoulders with each other as a community.

I've mentioned I organize my HS class reunion and every five years I try to choose a venue in or near downtown that shows off the best of OKC.

We've done Vast on the 50th floor of Devon (one of the very first events there), the Bricktown Events Center (before OK Ranch), and last summer was the Park House Event Center in the MBG. For an after-party, we had most of the patio at the Colcord reserved; an incredibly underrated spot especially on a warm summer's night. Already thinking about the next one... Maybe the Dream Hotel or Union Station??


Because we graduated in 1978, right when we were finishing college the roof fell in on the oil business and many people left, including yours truly. So, about half the people that attend now live out-of-state and we always get blocks of rooms: this past summer at The National and the Omni but in the past, the Colcord and 21c. A lot of the locals do stay-cations and make a weekend out of it. So many people comment, 'Wow. OKC is cool now.'

Contrast that to when we had our senior prom at the Skirvin in the spring of 1978. One of only two hotels downtown (and even it would close not long after) and the entire area was dead as a doornail.

I said this last year about this time, but spending a day down there during the holidays and walking and walking... It's like a personal victory lap where I can take everything in its entirety and just marvel.


I absolutely love showing off the best of our city to others and then experiencing it through their eyes because it's easy to take what we have for granted.

Pumpkinville, one of Myriad Botanical Gardens’ most beloved annual festivals, returns from Oct 4-20.

Sundays to Thursdays from 10am-5pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 10am-6:30pm. The festival will be closed on Mondays, October 7 and 14.

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