ROOTED AT PARK & CHERRY – Memphis Botanic Garden

CULTIVATING NATURAL CONNECTIONS

Rooted at Park & Cherry

Watch our short campaign video.

You are critical to this revitalization effort of our Arboretum, Urban Home Garden, Orchard, and Youth Education Glasshouse to promote community, conservation, & educational opportunities while connecting people with plants.

Learn More About the Campaign

For optimal viewing, we recommend viewing the booklet in full-screen mode.

Goals & Objectives

Raise $5,000,000 with at least 60% coming from private entities (foundations, corporations, and individuals).
- Use ~85% to invest in four (4) identified capital projects
- Add ~15% to Long-term Savings
Revitalize our Arboretum and Orchard making them each a ‘destination’ within our Garden.
Encourage healthy eating through the use of a new, outdoor Kitchen at the Garden.
Build a new Glasshouse that is open to the public, focused on education, and is home to our tropical plants collection.
Create a new Family Rest Area (bathrooms) and Event Lawn.
Add several new pieces of public art to high-visibility areas of the Garden.

Kitchen at the Garden

With a focus on nutrition, we will offer youth and adult classes on healthy eating, garden-to-table eating, harvest and canning preparations, and more. In addition, we may periodically bring in local celebrity chefs to do cooking demonstrations and in rare cases and for small events, the space may be available for rent.

Arboretum & Orchard

In this 3+ acre space, we will demonstrate transferable landscape stewardship principles, add a piece of public art that is visible from both inside and outside our fence at the corner of Park and Cherry, and add night uplighting for select trees. We plan to add over 50 new trees, as well as three new outdoor classrooms/gathering spaces, and three meadows; one focusing on the endangered Monarch Butterfly, another on birds, and the third will be known as our “Grand Meadow.”

Youth Education Glasshouse

Soon to be an iconic addition to the Memphis landscape, this new 3,200 square foot glasshouse will be open to the public during operating hours, have a focus on youth education programming – including a new, outdoor classroom – and become the home of our expanding tropical plants collection. In addition, we will host small-scale plant exhibitions (i.e. winter orchid shows) in this space. This new glass house will be visible to passersby on Cherry Road, especially at night as we illuminate it – often in color – to recognize holidays, local schools, sports teams, and other organizations, and this area will house a new piece of public art.

Family Rest Area & Event Lawn

This long-awaited and much-asked-for family restroom facility will be located in the southwest corner of the Garden. It will be adjacent to the new Kitchen at the Garden and a short walk from both our arboretum and orchard.

Timeline

Arboretum & Orchard is scheduled to open to the public in the Summer of 2023.
Youth Education/Tropical Plants Glasshouse is scheduled to open to the public in the Fall of 2024.
Kitchen at the Garden and the new Family Rest Area are scheduled to open to the public in late 2024.