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Gardens of The Learning Fields
The Learning Fields is a demonstration garden. As such, it provides plant trials to prove which plants will grow well in our area and to show different garden styles and planting techniques. You do not have to be a Master Gardener to have a garden. Anyone in the community may apply. Questions? Contact susanrandolphark@gmail.com or text 479-462-1713.
Welcome Garden
The Welcome Garden is beside the steps to the Isaac Witt Education building and along the walkway from the south parking lot. The garden is designed to welcome visitors and demonstrates options for foundation planting. We use perennials to give constant blooms from early spring to late fall.
Vegetable Garden
This is a 20 x 40 foot demonstration garden designed to feed a family of four to six. The garden is used to educate those who have never grown their own vegetables. The garden demonstrates spring, summer and fall gardening.
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We grow vegetables that a majority of families would like to grow and eat. We try at least one unfamiliar vegetable as a learning example. We have room to rotate the crops. The garden area along the fence has been added for vining crops. Smaller gardens were added for corn and blueberries. While not organic, we use very little pesticides and have compost from the landfill to improve the soil.
The soil is tested yearly by the University of Arkansas Extension office. This service is free to every resident of Arkansas.
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Newly added to our garden is one raised bed for senior citizens. It is 33” x 48” x 16 ft. long. The bed is filled with garden soil and amended with compost
Medicinal Herb Garden
Our medicinal herb garden demonstrates the second oldest use of plants, after food for the ailments of mankind. The quadrant design for these beds has been used since medieval times. The plants themselves are mostly common herbs, often thought of as cooking herbs but almost all have medical value. The herbs are commonly used externally on the body as antiseptics. We have learned that some can be harmful for your health if taken internally ie. Comfrey. Many healers and herb doctors distributed medicinal herbs with beneficial effect, but we discourage using plants in the medicinal beds for that purpose. THESE BEDS ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
The Herb Spiral
This garden was designed based on a unique European design. The raised bed provides good drainage and warm soil for the plants. The water feature at the end of the spiral helps cool the bed in summer and warms it a little in the spring. Most of the herbs in this garden are used for cooking.
Memorial Fountain
Sit and enjoy the unique water feature in this peaceful and serene landscape for meditation and memories.
Patchwork Quilt Garden
This garden demonstrates different group covers for both sun and shade, including strawberries, creeping thyme, mondo grass, liriope and creeping jenny.
Rose Garden
The rose garden is designed to demonstrate how to grow and care for roses in our locale. The garden features old and new varieties.
Butterfly Garden
The Butterfly Habitat Garden is designed to showcase plants for attracting butterflies and hosting caterpillars. The beds host 5 major families of butterflies
that are in the River Valley. If you look closely, you may find a beautiful baby butterfly chomping away on the leaves of a host plant. There are many ideas that you can incorporate in your home garden to provide an oasis for butterflies in your neighborhood. We are a designated Monarch waystation.
Cutting Garden
The Cutting Garden contains several varieties of annuals, perennials and fillers to be used for floral arrangements. Our intent is to have cut flowers available from early spring through the fall by planting both cool-season and warm-season selections and by succession planting through the year.
Blackberry Patch
In the blackberry garden we are growing thornless primocane and floricane varieties developed and released by the University of Arkansas. Our goals are to (1.) Demonstrate the planting, fertilization, irrigation, pruning, trellising, and maintenance of these plants and (2) evaluate berry production and quality.
Compost Demonstration Garden
Compost is an essential product that will enrich any garden. Composting is a process of combining organic materials normally discarded, such as grass clippings, leaves, kitchen leftovers and garden plants. This process allows nature to break down the coarse materials into useable product to be tilled back into the garden. We call it “garbage to black gold”.
Blueberry Patch
The goals of this blueberry garden are to (1) demonstrate the planting, fertilization, irrigation, pruning, and maintenance of these plants and (2) determine which varieties do we in the River Valley. The garden contains Rabbiteye, Southern Highbush and Northern Highbush varieties.
Hugelkultur Demonstration Garden
The Hugelkultur Method is a Germanic term that translates to Mound Culture. This garden method creates a higher mound to plant on by starting layering with limbs, branches and other cuts of wood stacked over cardboard in a shallow berm. On top of these materials, other layers of mulch, compost and soil are added. Over time, the wood materials break down, acting as a sponge and protecting the soil in winter, keeping it warmer, and in summer, keeping it cooler. Building up to do this is easier than digging down in compacted soils.
Children’s Garden
A garden for children to have a safe and fun place to learn how to plant, grow and harvest plants. If the children who accompany their parents to The Learning Fields get bored looking at grownup projects, this garden is designed to let the young generation learn where their food comes from and enjoy a fun scavenger hunt at the same time!
Labyrinth Garden
Labyrinths are known to have existed for thousands of years and ancient ones have been found among many cultures, including American Indian, African, Celtic, Greek, French and Italian. The labyrinth at The Learning Fields is a winding single path that leads to and from the center of the labyrinth. Along the path are many plants such as Green Santolina, Lavender, Echinacea, Black-eyed Susan’s and Red Hot Poker. Above the rock bench seat is a Muscadine grapevine. There is no wrong way to walk the labyrinth, so just take your time, relax, enjoy and leave your stress behind.
Native Plant Garden
The garden provides examples of native Arkansas plants and a bog garden. Native plants are our heritage and provide extraordinary benefits for people and wildlife. This garden encourages habitat biodiversity. It is our intention to encourage the public to se native plants for landscaping around their homes and gardens to bring back a portion of that Native Plant Garden Habitat.
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Native plants are adapted to our region and, after becoming established, require little water or care. Native plants provide important ecosystem services and are valuable resources for pollinators and many birds, insects and more. Find practical ways to incorporate these plants into your landscape.
Rock Art Garden
This garden displays a cheerful and creative combination of seasonal live flowers and painted rocks. In the spring, visitors will find colorful painted snakes, a dragonfly, a butterfly turtles, a mama cat with her kittens, rabbits, a duck, lady bugs as well as fruits, vegetables and flowers surrounded by liriope and vinca. During the winter, the garden features pumpkins, bats, fall leaves, candy corn, squirrels, Christmas wreaths, snowmen and snowflakes. A clay pot horse named Scootie watches over the garden at all times.
Gourd Patch
The gourd patch demonstrates simple, inexpensive ways to grow a crop in a much smaller space than usually required. Growing vertically on sturdy supports saves space, allows air circulation to reduce disease, and provides easy access and inspection of the growing vines and fruit for early identification and eradication of any pests.
Fig Trial Orchard
A ten-year plant trial to determine which fig trees will grow and produce in the River Valley. Preliminary results are posted on our blog posts with a final report coming in 2025. Fig trees that are proving out are propagated and can be purchased at our spring plant sale. This project won the state Master Gardener Education award in 2019.
Edible Landscape Garden
The gazebo is usually the first structure seen when driving up to The Learning Fields. The edible landscaping plants range from low-growing ground covers to shrubs and trees, including muscadine plants along the sidewalk. The garden also contains an off-grid water feature.
The Keyhole Garden
This garden, under construction, will demonstrate how a large variety of plants can be grown in a small, raised space. A built-in composting features helps nourish the soil.
The Elephant Topiary
Coming soon! Currently under construction, these metal frames will be covered with vines and will be green, living elephants.
The Gelene Gish MacDowell Wildflower Meadow
This garden features a variety of native wildflowers. It was recently relocated to the northwest end of the fenced area and is a great example of how quickly a wildflower meadow can be established.
The Beehives
The beehives at the learning Fields are designed to grow the world's most effective pollinators. The beehive project is a primary contributor to the Learning Fields and is financially self-supporting through the harvest of natural honey and by-products.
The Pumpkin Patch
This garden demonstrates how to grow pumpkins in your on backyard or garden This year, because of a squash disease affecting pumpkins, the Patch is planted in potatoes in raised mounds. We will return to pumpkins in 2025.
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