As spring finally makes its way around the corner and each day gets a little warmer and sunnier, the Red Butte Garden is a perfect scenic seasonal experience. The Garden’s Floral Walk, a walking trail that crosses through much of the area, consists of hundreds of varieties of flowers and trees, from the famous daffodils to the Rose Garden. The Walk features a unique mix of eclectic blooms and hybrids. Many of these florals are already in bloom and many will begin later this season.
One of the most intriguing seasonal aspects of the walk incorporates several distinct poems and pieces spread across the Garden.
Last year, the family and community program manager at the Red Butte Gardens, LaraLee Smith, organized the new Spring Poetry Walk to celebrate National Poetry Month. Her idea was to reach out to poetry groups around the community and at the U. Smith put together a committee of staff members to select the very best springtime-centered poems.
The effort spread nationally — a number of the 11 poems the committee were not submitted by local poets.
The walk this year includes an audio tour. Each of the 11 poem boxes posted throughout the Garden have audio links to scan and play the author’s own reading on a smartphone or other mobile device. The audio tour remains active only during the month of April, though the posting boxes will remain up until the first day of summer, Smith said.
Having the audio tour in the spring is a “great way to recognize art and different forms of art” to better appreciate it, Smith said. The boxes with poems are “something concrete you can look at and be a part of.”
The Garden always posts five boxes across the walkways and gardens throughout the year each containing a well-known poem relevant to the season.
“It’s nice to be in the Garden,” Smith said. “It’s a great way to connect to the outdoors.”
There are plenty of distinct walks and hikes throughout the Garden, which features eight complete sub-gardens and is currently under construction for a ninth. Each area has a unique charm and atmosphere that changes every day as spring advances.
“The Garden has so much to offer,” said Sarah Sleve, a sophomore at the U. “Each area is so serene and peaceful, and the poetry just adds to that feeling.”
The Red Butte Garden features dozens of festivals, sales and shows throughout the spring. Entry is free for students with UCards.