A garden initiative team, with early support from the Sedona Area Garden Club and the Sedona-Bell Rock Kiwanis Club, has been actively promoting a destination botanic garden, possibly a children or family garden, to be built somewhere in the greater Sedona area.
The team — consisting of Carol Keefer, Elaine and Chuck Gunderson, Lori Johnston, Polly Lamkin, Ken Rowe, Stephanie Dunshee and Phil Billiam — is currently talking to the city about placement.
“In December, the team introduced the garden concept to the Sedona City Council during open forum and later met with City Manager Justin Clifton, Assistant City Manager Karen Osburn and Director of Parks and Recreation Rachel Murdoch, who provided valuable insight,” Keefer said. “The city manager suggested additional study in order to assess opportunity. In the meantime, we have been in touch with two consultants who have worked on similar gardens around the country.”
This garden, not to be confused with a community garden, would house beautiful collections of plants in thematic beds with scanning codes to obtain information via smart phones, activity elements, wheelchair and stroller friendly paved pathways, interactive art highlighting Sedona artists and sustainable water features. It would be a botanic garden for all ages, with an emphasis on fun, whimsy and learning elements for children and families, an educational outlet for school field trips and a lovely setting for garden programs.
Once a site partner is confirmed, the team will begin raising money for the design, groundwork, the garden and an endowment for maintenance and garden staff. Donors who fund theme beds, water features,and activity elements will be honored with name recognition plaques. The team envisions a volunteer board that oversees the garden together with the site partner.
“Team members and early supporters have brought strength to the process,” Keefer said. “The Gundersons are focused on how to incorporate sustainability into the garden, hoping to work with the city’s sustainability liaison. Polly has reached out to the Chamber of Commerce to make them aware of the project. Lori, who has an education background, made a rendering showing teaching elements that might be in the garden. Stephanie led the group establishing a mission statement and marketing plan. Ken, owner of Rowe Gallery, will provide the master plan for art elements inside the garden and Phil is grooming our financial details. The Sedona Area Garden Club and the Kiwanis Club have each set aside $1,000 in reserve and the garden club offered volunteer support as well. Several others have encouraged our project forward, including the Gardens for Humanity, Village of Oak Creek’s Rotary member David Gill, the president of the Arizona Federation of Gardens Clubs, Inc., the Arizona Community Foundation and the Yavapai County Supervisor.”
According to one city staff member, there seems to be curiosity about botanic gardens in Sedona judging by the number of Internet clicks on the Sedona Botanical Garden, a small pocket garden off Dry Creek Road.
Comments, suggestions and resource ideas or thoughts on a possible donated site can be emailed to the team at sedonagardeninitiative@gmail.com.
