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Gardens of The Learning Fields
The Learning Fields is a collection of educational and instructive demonstration
gardens. Through hands-on gardening and classroom education, visitors learn how to plant and harvest, and what plant species grow successfully in the River Valley.
You can also visit The Learning Fields to relax and meander through the gardens. If you enjoy photography, The Learning Fields provides an oasis of spectacular images to be captured by amateur and professional photographers alike. If you would like to volunteer at The Learning Fields, contact learningofthefields@gmail.com or (479) 462-1713.
Welcome Garden
The Welcome Garden is adjacent to 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. Perennials are used to give constant blooms from early spring to late fall.
Vegetable Garden
This 20 x 40 foot garden is filled with popular vegetables and herbs and is designed to feed a family of four to six, with room to rotate the crops. Demonstrating spring, summer and fall gardening, the garden is used to educate those who have never grown vegetables and to expose more experienced gardeners to new crops. One unfamiliar
vegetable is grown each year as a learning example.
The garden area along the fence provides a space for vining crops to climb, and smaller beds were added for vegetables such as corn, squash and zucchini. There is a large raised bed designed to improve ease of access.
The soil is tested annually by the University of Arkansas Extension office, which is a free service to Arkansas residents. While not organic, very few pesticides are used and compost from the landfill is incorporated to improve the soil.
Medicinal Herb Garden
After food, the Medicinal Herb Garden demonstrates the second oldest use of plants 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 most have medical value. The herbs are commonly used externally on the body as antiseptics. Some medicinal herbs, such as Comfrey, can be harmful for your health if taken internally. Many healers and herb doctors distribute medicinal herbs with beneficial effect. However, we discourage using plants in the medicinal garden for health purposes. These beds are for educational purposes only.
The Herb Spiral
The Herb Spiral Garden is a concept that originated in Europe centuries ago as an efficient and elegant planting system for growing herbs. In this garden, herbs are cultivated in a small space by creating diverse microclimates for plants with different needs. The tallest part offers a dry, sunny, and windy environment for drought-tolerant plants like rosemary, while the lower, moister areas at the base of the spiral provide shade and water for plants that prefer more moisture, like basil. Most of the herbs in this garden are used for cooking.
Memorial Fountain
This garden was built as a tribute to Isaac Witt’s daughter, Jeanne Witt. Step into a peaceful retreat where elegance and nature come together in perfect harmony. This beautifully landscaped garden features a classic three-tiered stone fountain surrounded by vibrant seasonal blooms, creating a tranquil centerpiece that invites relaxation.
Nearby, a wrought-iron garden swing rests on a paved patio, shaded by evergreens for a quiet moment of repose. Bordered by colorful rose bushes and trimmed hedges, the manicured lawn is enclosed by a decorative black garden fence that adds both style and structure. Perfect for a quiet moment alone, this garden oasis offers beauty and serenity in every detail.
Patchwork Quilt Garden
The Patchwork Garden demonstrates a wide variety of plants that can be grown in Arkansas. Included in the garden are plants such as bee balm, Texas bluebonnet, butterfly weed, Ashy sunflower, purple coneflower, blue sage, prairie blazing star, peppermint, sedum, Shasta daisies, zinnias, irises, spiderwort, petunias, viburnum, orange daylilies, vinca, sweetspire, strawberries, chrysanthemum, forsythia, purple lilac, black-eyed Susan, creeping thyme, mondo grass, creeping phlox, Saint Andrew star, autumn joy sedum, lantana, and verbena.
Rose Garden
Roses are some of the most popular and beautiful flowering landscape shrubs. Although growing roses may seem daunting to some gardeners, rose bushes are relatively hardy and easy to grow with proper planting and care. This garden is designed to demonstrate how to grow and care for roses in the River Valley. The garden is a work in progress featuring old and new varieties.
Butterfly Habitat Garden
The Butterfly Habitat Garden is designed to showcase plants for attracting butterflies and hosting caterpillars. The beds host five major families of butterflies that are in the River Valley.
Look closely and you may find a colorful caterpillar chomping away on the leaves of a host plant. There are many design ideas that can be incorporated in a home garden to provide an oasis for butterflies. The Butterfly Habitat Garden is a designated Monarch waystation.
Cutting Garden
The Cutting Garden demonstrates the best flowers to grow for floral arrangements, taking into consideration stem length, vase life, and growing and blooming cycle. Pollenless varieties are chosen due to their longer vase life and because they do not drop pollen that can stain tablecloths, furniture, and clothing. This garden contains several varieties of annuals, perennials, herbs and foliage that thrive from early spring through fall. Both cool-season and warm-season selections are planted in this garden. Flowers are planted in intervals to maximize garden productivity and to provide a continuous supply of fresh flowers. Some flowers require trellising to keep the stems upright.
Note: The Cutting Garden is for demonstration purposes. The flowers are shared with local retirement facilities and are sold as a fundraiser. Please enjoy viewing the flowers and feel free to take all the photos you desire.
Blackberry Patch
The Blackberry Patch contains thornless primocane and floricane blackberry varieties that are developed and released by the University of Arkansas. Primocanes are new, one-year-old canes of a blackberry or raspberry plant that are vegetative (not producing fruit) and will be floricanes the following year. Floricanes are second-year canes that are woody and produce the plant's fruit crop before they die back. The plants in this garden demonstrate the planting, fertilization, irrigation, pruning, trellising, and maintenance that is required for a healthy crop. The plants are assessed for overall health and fruit production, flavor, and texture.
Compost Demonstration Garden
Compost is decomposed organic matter used to enrich soil and nourish plants, improving soil structure, water retention, and nutrient availability. Compost is created by combining organic materials normally discarded such as grass clippings, leaves, garden plants, and food scraps. Microorganisms break down this organic matter into a soil-like nutrient-rich humus that can be spread in and around garden beds to boost fertility. We call this process “garbage to black gold.”
Blueberry Patch
The Blueberry patch demonstrates the planting, fertilization, irrigation, pruning, and maintenance of blueberry plants and determines which varieties do well in the River Valley. Rabbiteye, Southern Highbush, and Northern Highbush varieties are grown in this garden.
Sunflower Patch
Sunflowers, a favorite of many gardeners, are stunning and add height, structure, and color to any garden. They are a beacon for bees, butterflies, and birds and attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs. The Sunflower Patch demonstrates which sunflower varieties grow best in the River Valley. Wildflowers are great companion plants for sunflowers, further encouraging pollinators and adding beauty to the garden. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the sights of this garden and to take family photos.
Children’s Garden
The Children’s Garden is a safe, immersive, and interactive outdoor space designed to spark a child’s curiosity and connection with nature through hands-on activities and exploration. Children are encouraged to dig, touch, smell, and observe plants, fostering a direct connection with nature.
The Labyrinth
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 germander, coneflowers, daylilies, Gold Bar Miscanthus, gaura, Veronica speedwell, black-eyed Susans, Arkansas blue-star amsonia and Angelina sedum.
A muscadine grapevine provides shade for sitting on the rock bench in the center. Look closely and you may notice the structure is a re-purposed satellite dish! There is no wrong way to walk the labyrinth, so just take your time, relax, enjoy and leave your stress behind.
Native Plant Garden
This garden provides examples of native Arkansas plants and a bog garden. A native garden uses plants that are indigenous to a specific geographic area, creating a sustainable, low-maintenance, and wildlife-friendly landscape that requires less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. This makes the plants more resilient and easier to grow. The plants are adapted to local climate, soil, and pests, providing essential food and habitat for local birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Cup flowers, coneflowers, ironweed, black-eyed Susan, passion flower, trumpet vine, wild roses, false sunflowers, blazing star, and native clematis, among many other flower and plant varieties, can be enjoyed in the Native Garden.
Rock Art Garden
This garden displays a cheerful and creative combination of seasonal flowers and painted rocks. In the spring, visitors will find dragonflies, butterflies, turtles, a mama cat with her kittens, rabbits, ducks, ladybugs, and colorful painted snakes. Painted rocks representing fruits, vegetables, and flowers are surrounded by liriope and vinca plants. 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. This project demonstrates that more than fruits and vegetables can be found in a garden! Additional information can be found in the container on the bench.
Gourd Patch
The gourd patch demonstrates a simple, inexpensive way to grow a crop in a much smaller space than is usually required. Growing vertically, on sturdy supports, saves space, allows air circulation to reduce disease, and provides easy access to the plants. The growing vines and fruit can be more efficiently inspected for early identification and eradication of any pests.
Fig Trial Orchard
The Fig Trial is 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 post with a final report coming soon. This project won the state Master Gardener Education award in 2019. Fig trees that are proving out are propagated and can be purchased at our annual spring plant sale. Fig tastings and fig cutting swaps are held at The Learning Fields and are open to the public.
Edible Landscape Garden
An edible landscape integrates fruit, vegetable, herb, and edible flower plants into a functional and beautiful outdoor space, blending them with ornamental plants to create a diverse sustainable, and productive environment. Instead of traditional, separate vegetable patches, edibles are woven into the entire landscape. Plantings range from low-growing ground cover to shrubs, trees, and the muscadine plants along the sidewalk.
The Keyhole Garden
A keyhole garden is a circular raised garden with a keyhole-shaped indentation on one side. The indentation allows gardeners to add uncooked vegetable scraps, greywater, and manure into a composting basket that sits in the center of the bed. Composting materials are added throughout the growing season to provide nutrients for the plants. The upper layer of soil slopes gently down from the center to the sides. Leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, and spinach and root crops such as onions, garlic, carrots, and beets are ideal for keyhole growing. Plants with wide-reaching root systems, such as tomatoes and zucchini, may not perform well in a keyhole garden.
The keyhole garden was developed in Lesotho, South Africa, based on a design that originated with CARE in Zimbabwe for people diagnosed with AIDS or who were otherwise unable to tend a traditional garden. The keyhole garden has gained popularity for individuals with mobility issues since the raised bed makes the garden more accessible. Today, because the keyhole garden is so productive, people of all abilities enjoy the use of these gardens.
The Gelene Gish MacDowell Wildflower Meadow
This meadow was created in loving memory of Master Gardener Gelene Gish MacDowell with funds donated by her family. The Gelene Gish MacDowell Wildflower Meadow was originally located on property west of The Learning Fields. After several years of effort, the poor soil quality of this parcel of land proved unable to support plant growth. The native wildflower meadow was relocated in 2024 to the northwest corner of The Learning Fields. A thriving wildflower meadow with a robust mix of wildflowers takes time and multiple years to flourish. Plans for the meadow include lots of planting and building pathways throughout the garden. Gelene Gish MacDowell is remembered as a quiet, kind, and supportive person who loved gardening ̶ and flowers.
The Beehives
Four beehives are located in the bee yard at The Learning Fields. The amount of honey produced by a hive is dependent on factors like hive strength, weather, available food sources, and beekeeper management. The abundance of flowers and nectar-producing plants at The Learning Fields provide the honeybees with a variety of nutritious food sources.
Sadly, the overall health of these vital pollinators is threatened with beekeepers reporting average annual losses of around 40% of their honeybee colonies since 2007. Honeybees matter as they pollinate a significant portion of the food we eat. The Learning Fields is dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of honeybees and how we can help them.
Fun Facts: The honeybee is the official state insect of Arkansas and National Honey Month is celebrated in September.
The Pumpkin Patch
The primary focus of the Pumpkin Patch is to demonstrate to home gardeners how pumpkins can be grown on a small to medium scale. Pumpkin varieties may include Jack-Be-Little, Small Sugar, Cherokee Bush and Jack-O-Lanterns. Wood chips between the rows create a safer walking path and help combat weeds. The pumpkin garden will be used for other demonstrations when pumpkins are not being grown, such as showcasing overwinter cover crops and spring vegetable plantings.
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