Friday, March 16, 2018
The area’s first botanical garden, named Hope Botanical Garden, is in the early stages of construction in Leoma
Charlie Kincaid/ Democrat Union
“A garden is such an expression of God and his creation.”
Pastor Jerry Clayton
Have you ever wanted to be a part of something bigger, something that is a reflection of your own feelings, that can also incite feelings of joy and happiness in the hearts of others?
Local citizens can get in on the ground-level of the area’s first botanical garden, named Hope Botanical Garden, which is in the early stages of construction in Leoma. It is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, donor-supported organization.
“When I was working for TVA, I was in biological research. I worked with plants and that was a passion of mine,” said Jerry Clayton, the pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Leoma.
“I have envisioned a botanical garden in our area for many years and only recently has the opportunity presented itself for a garden to be built and supported by the community,” he explained.
“ I shared my vision with others and the response was tremendous.”
A four-acre parcel of land located on Ford Road, just off Highway 43 South, was donated and the garden is already underway.
Twelve maple trees have already been planted, along with over 300 perimeter shrubs, and a map of the garden that shows how it will be designed and laid out is already in development.
So far, $25,000 in donations have been invested in the garden and this includes the donated land value.
Clayton has been a bi-vocational pastor for many years, and spent 37 years working for the Tennessee Valley Authority in environmental, chemical, biological and agricultural research.
Clayton has now partnered with two experienced gardeners, Julius Bivens and Don Simbeck. Bivens owns and operates a nursery in Leoma and has many years of horticultural experience.
Simbeck, a retired instructor of 39 years in biology and other related fields from Loretto High School, has over 30 years horticultural experience, and is currently active in Master Gardeners, guiding bird watching field trips and other community activities.
Both men serve on an advisory council for the garden. Collectively, the experience of these men are blending perfectly to make the vision a reality.
Two other individuals, Ron Majiros, who worked as an Environmental Scientist for
TVA for 25 years, currently with TVA Police and retired TVA employee JoAnn Fowler, are lending their expertise to the garden’s development.
Ron serves as the secretary/treasurer and provides technical support, while JoAnn serves as a writer/editor for publications.
While a few trees have already been planted, so much work remains to be done. That’s where the community’s involvement is needed.
“Obviously, this cannot be funded on its own, and the trees and shrubs and eventually, flowers, will need to be planted and maintained,” Clayton said. Everyone, including staff members, are volunteers at the garden. This allows 100-percent of all revenues to be focused on the garden itself.
“We hope the community will not only want to contribute financially, but also have a voice in the design of the garden, and we also want folks to come out and help us to plant this garden. The rnore the community is involved, the more it will mean to the community.”
In addition to Clayton and the rest of the team, the Huntsville Botanical Garden has partnered with the local garden to help share information, excess plants, and ideas.
“We will partner with several botanical gardens, and it will benefit all of us. This will help us to leam more about what works and what doesn’t in our area, what diseases to watch for, how to properly care for the plants, and we can also obtain plants this way,” Clayton said.
Within the garden will be several individual gardens, including an exotic garden, a topiary garden (figures and animals), prayer garden, a native plant garden, floral displays, a Japanese garden, children’s garden and a garden as a memorial to remember and also honor breast cancer survivors. This garden will feature a pink stone pathway containing pink flowering plants.
The overall area will be decorated during holidays, themed to coincide with Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, etc.
“We are going to offer schools the opportunity to come in and assist decorating sections of the garden in different themes, especially in the fall,” Clayton said. It is hoped that the garden will be utilized by our schools for educating our students and emphasizing the need for conservation.”
He added that new technology and new planting methods will be tested in the garden, helping to streamline the process and let the volunteers learn as they plant.
A hedge maze is coming soon, which will be comprised of 1,000 shrubs.
“I certainly hope we find some folks who want to help plant those,”Clayton said with a laugh.
The expected time frame to have the garden fully operational and in bloom is only five years, but the workers plan to open the garden to the public in the spring of 2020.
Crape myrtles and dogwoods are two examples of trees to be included in the next round of expansion.
Benches and lamps will be installed in stages, and businesses and private individuals can sponsor and donate these items.
A great way the community can help to grow the garden is to donate trees or shrubs in memory of a loved one. This will help to expand the garden, while creating a permanent memorial.
For $100, the garden team will buy a large, high-quality tree, and provide a plaque recognizing the donor and/or the person for whom it is in memorial or honor.
The same arrangement is available for $50 on a shrub or $25 on a vine and this can all be done online from the Tribute Store on the garden’s webpage,
www.hopebotanicalgarden.org.
If you aren’t concerned about a plaque, you can still buy trees, shrubs and vines for the garden through the Tribute Store to help the garden grow and this is the preferred way to donate to the garden.
If you prefer to donate a tree you already have, you may do that, too. Not every tree can be accepted, though, Clayton explained.
Some trees, if they are susceptible to pests and blights, can’t be planted, due to the costs and time associated with keeping them healthy.
Clayton is encouraging anyone who wants to donate trees and plants to first call for a list of the desired trees and plants that are currently needed before buying or bringing them to the garden.
Any business or individual making a donation of $500 or more, may have their name displayed at the garden as a sponsor and on our website.. Volunteers are still needed for various positions. For rnore information, visit
www.hopebotanicalgarden.org or call Clayton at (914)495-1923.
