By JENNY CAPPS
capps@newsroom.byu.edu
Karen Ashton's dream of creating beautiful gardens became a reality when she and her husband purchased a dairy farm in Lehi and started Thanksgiving Point.
That dream will be completely fulfilled when several botanical garden rooms are opened in July 2000.
'The connection with nature for me is very soothing. Nature has the ability to remind us that God is in charge,' Ashton said.
Ashton said she visited gardens all over the country for ideas and has been involved in the planning process.
'My hope is that it will bring people to a moment of reflection in their lives,' she said.
Paul Eddington, from the marketing department at Thanksgiving Point, said there will be about nine different areas of the gardens, each with a different theme such as roses, waterfalls or different fragrances. There will also be a 'Secret Garden' fashioned after the book.
A children's discovery garden will have a replica of Noah's ark and two mazes for children to explore, he said. There will also be a cave area and a pond with a glass window below. Classrooms for school children touring the gardens will be used to help the children learn an Earth Science curriculum.
The gardens will also house the largest man-made waterfall in North America, Eddington said. It will be almost 60 ft. across, with an 85 ft. fall at one point that drops into a lake.
BYU students are also constructing the largest model railway system in the country for the discovery park, he said. There will be a mile of tracks with about 20 trains running on it.
'This will be a place for people to pause and think of the wonderful things that come from nature,' Eddington said