By Michael Hennefer
Thanksgiving point will open a new 55-acre Thanksgiving Garden Saturday for the 2001 season.
The garden spring display will include more than 200,000 spring bulbs.
'Our season was limited last year because of the construction. However, this spring there is nothing holding us back, the garden presentation will be tremendous all year long,' said Thanksgiving Point Pesident Clive Win.
The Thanksgiving Garden opened July 2000 to the public.
However, construction forced the garden to open only during the evenings and weekends.
A grand opening for the garden will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2001. In preparation for the celebration, gardeners have planted 130,000 tulips, 90,000 narcissus, 15,000 crocus, 12,000 Dutch iris, 7,000 anemones, 6,000 muscari, 5,000 fritillaries, 12,000 alliums, 400,000 pansies, 5,000 bellies, 15,000 wallflowers and 1,500 ranunculas last fall.
The 55-acre garden also features a formal English rose garden, a fragrance garden, an Italian water garden, a butterfly Garden, a French Parterre Garden and the largest man-made waterfall in North America.
The nice spring weather has aided the flower growth.
Thanksgiving Point communications coordinator Paul Eddington said the weather has 'had a really positive early effect on the garden. A lot of the early spring flowers are starting to poke up. It has added a lot of extra color to the garden.'
Horticulturists are predicting that the garden will be in full bloom by the third week in April for the grand opening. However, this depends on what happens with the weather between now and then.
A new Visitor''s Center of the Thanksgiving Point Garden will also open Saturday.
The recently completed center includes a caf?, gift shop, orientation room, educational classrooms and reception center.
A separate part of the Thanksgiving Point Gardens contains the Children''s Discovery Garden.
Eddington said the Children''s Discovery Garden covers about seven or eight acres.
This part of the exhibit features a replica of Noah''s Ark, mazes made out of hedges, an educational display of environmental life and the largest garden railway system in the world with more than a mile of track for 20 model trains.
Here children can climb into caves and observe pond life through an underwater window.
'Most gardens you go to are very quiet and reflective where you can go and unwind. The children''s garden is made specifically for children to have a fun time,' Eddington said.
Tickets to the garden are $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 3 to 12. This price includes admission to both the Thanksgiving Garden and the Children''s Discovery Garden.
Admission to only the Children''s Discovery Garden is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Group discounts of a dollar off are available for groups larger than 20 people.
The Garden will remain open throughout summer and into fall before closing for the season in October. The garden will be open from 9 a.m. to sunset every Monday through Saturday.