The Sunken Gardens

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The Sunken Gardens started out as a Depression Era project. It is located in the former bend of Antelope Creek and a neighborhood dumpsite, right off of 27^th and Capitol. It is adjacent to Antelope Park and is dedicated to long time Lincoln families. The original design was created by Fred Goebel and his son, Henry.

The Sunken Gardens is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. It’s hard to imagine that this used to be a dump; a person used to put their trash here and now it has come to life. As soon as you drive up you can see all the green stemming from the gardens. When I walked up, the first thing I noticed was a paved stairway cutting through green hedges and at the top was a statue of a girl holding a stick in her mouth that was pointed at the sky. Around her lay a bed of white flowers and in front of the flowers is a pathway. Green grass is everywhere, in it grows large trees, so tall they look like they touch the sky. As you walk along the brick laid path you come to another stairway leading down into the true heart of The Sunken Gardens. Standing at the top of that stairway looking out over the gardens all the color from the flowers pop out against the green. You can see the reds, pinks, purples, yellows, and blues. The pond; it looks so serene. There are no disturbances in the water even though the wind is blowing like crazy, shaking the tree leaves. The rustling of the tree leaves deafens the silence that the presence of the garden gives.

As I walk down the steps, big elephant ear plants that are green and purple stretch out over the railings. I have never seen leaves so big in my life. As I continue down onto the brick pathway I see children running and playing. A child’s laughter fills the air. “Mommy, look at this one!” one little boy says to his mother. A couple is taking lots of pictures of the flowers and a photographer is taking pictures of a girl, which I believe is for her senior pictures.

Leading further into the gardens the aromas from the flowers reach my nose. I love the smell of flowers, they always seems to make me smile. It definitely sets the feeling of the moment; to be in such a beautiful place and to have such a good feeling come over me. It is so relaxing to be here. Even though there are quite a few people here the gardens are actually really silent. Of course, I can hear the rustle of the tree leaves and people from time to time but just sitting here, relaxing is so nice. It’s nice to get out and get away for a while. Getting of campus is so helpful. It helps me get rid of all the stresses of the week. It is also great being outdoors, especially on a wonderful day like today. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing, so it is not too warm.

Running water fills my ears as I pass by a small waterfall. There is an opening of two stairways that go up opposite sides of each other and meet at the top and also there is a pathway that connects them across the middle. In the center, between the two stairways there are rocks, large gray, red, and black rocks. There are also some small trees in the rocks and in the water that the water falls into there are some more of the purple and green elephant ear plants and some rocks that surround the pond. At the top of the two stairways there is another statue. It is a girl who is dumping out a pail of water.

The ponds look so peaceful and so beautiful; flowers all along the outsides: purple flowers and greenish yellow grass surrounds the outsides of the two ponds. On the water, there sits dark green lily pads and stemming off from them are purple and white flowers. The purple flower, I think, is my favorite flower in the entire garden. The flower sits on four dark violet petals; the petals of the flower are light purple. In the center there is a ring of yellow and in the center of the ring is more light purple. It is such a sight to see. Under the lily pads are little gold fish growing in size up to large white fish with black and gold spots. I have never seen fish of this sort before; swimming around, in and out of the lily pads.

My favorite scene from The Sunken Gardens is the one where you can see The Bicentennial Cascade Fountain in the background. The water falls down over these rectangles blocks and it looks like it is falling directly onto the green bushes. Trees fill up the rest of the background while pink and purple flowers fill up the middle ground and big elephant ear leaves fill up the foreground.

The dome can be seen from anywhere in the gardens. It has white pillars with a copper/brown top. The dome itself has outlines of leaves along with cut outs of leaves. It is the main part of the gardens. Around the inside of the dome there is a saying “I expect to make this spot the most beautiful place in the city, either in or out of the parks. The ground leads itself to the making of a sunken garden at the same time a spot rich in beauty.” E.M. Bair said that in November of 1930, just before construction of the garden started. The ground is brick and so are the walls on one side of the dome. Engraved in the bricks on the ground are the names of donors and also there are names in the bricks on the wall of more generous donors. Off to the side there is a large computer set into the wall. It can tell you information about The Sunken Gardens; the history, what types of flowers are in the garden, and how you can donate to the gardens. It is interesting to me that there is this large computer off to the side. Everything now is connected with technology, even nature. You are never truly alone in the world anymore. Unless you completely give up technology, someone is always going to be able to reach you. Of course, this computer wasn’t always here and I like that they added it. It gives the people who come to the park a chance to learn about it. What history it has and even what types of plants are in the garden. It also adds another dimension to the park, instead of just the gardens being used as an observing site it could also be used as a place for learning. A Botany class could come and try and identify plants and instead of looking them up in the book they can use the computer.

I think this place is a big part of Lincoln. Whether you have been there once or a hundred times, I think it can be enjoyed as much as you did the very first time you went there. It is a very peaceful, relaxing place. Somewhere you can walk around and clear your mind. I feel this place suggests that the society of Lincoln wants to have a beautiful city, one that is well taken care of that people want to look at and want to visit. People want something to be proud of to say “Yes, that’s in my town,” when tourist ask about it or visit and I think that people just like to have a nice place to go on a beautiful day.

This has to be the most gorgeous place in Nebraska that I have ever visited and it makes me sad that I have never heard of this place before I moved here. I think they should advertise it more. There are many things that I have never heard of that are in the state of Nebraska. Maybe if they advertised more, more people would want to donate and visit the gardens more often. I would encourage everyone to go and visit The Sunken Gardens. If even for five minutes, it is such a beautiful sight to see. I think it will change people’s perspective especially since it is getting closer winter and there won’t be much life in the plants and the trees around us. It’s a last look at nature’s beauty before the winter cold takes it away. I think people will walk away in a better mood after seeing the gardens too. I know that after we left that day I was in a great mood. It’s almost as nature gives you a high, a release of endorphins that just make you happy. But I just love nature. Being outside, especially during summer and fall is one of my favorite things to do. It calms me, makes me feel happier. It’s a time for me to reflect and think about everything that has been going on in my life and nature just allows me to process that and figure out what I want to do and being at the Sunken Gardens gives me that opportunity. Being in place like this and seeing the beauty it holds also gives me a sense of hope. Everywhere around towns are expanding, buildings are being built, parking lots are being built for that building and slowly nature’s beauty is being taken away little by little. It’s nice to know that people still appreciate the small things in life and that some do still want to stop and smell the roses.