Pugh Garden is an Oasis in a Sea of Grass
CALUMET, Okla. (KFOR) — In generations past, farmers grazed cattle on this countryside between Calumet and Geary.
A few have tried to grow wheat and alfalfa, but Daniel Pugh is pretty sure he’s the first person to plant tapioca on this property, along with a host of other plants that now dot a two acre botanical garden surrounding his house.
“It’s real small now,” he says of his seedling, “but it will grow to be four to five feet tall.”
“We started with corner gardens and just started pushing out. We didn’t have enough sense to stop.”
Sitting in the shade of their woodland garden, Daniel and his wife Ruthie can still remember building on this family half-section clearing homestead trash, and acres of cheat grass beneath the trees.
“It’s always work,” chuckles Ruthie, “and there’s weeding.”
“Behind every gardening woman there’s a man with a shovel,” Daniel laughs.
He built more beds because he didn’t like to mow.
He built pathways around the house and just kept trying to see what might work in this dry and sometimes harsh country.
“Defiant beauty is what we call it,” he quips. “Mother Nature throws a lot of stuff at us from ice storms to fires. We just keep coming back, and I think we’re doing okay.”
It’s been five years now since some visiting master gardeners suggested Daniel and Ruthie start inviting guests.
Thus Pugh Garden was officially born.
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From May to November, when Daniel isn’t working too hard, people can stop by, walk around, and settle in.
“We’re a place where people can get away from the city.”
The rewards come when they and their guests are able to stop for a second, listen, watch, and let nature surround them.
“You get wrapped up in what needs doing,” says Pugh, “and then you’re finally able to sit down and relax.”
Pugh Garden is an oasis now, an island of color amidst a sea of summer grass.
For more information on Pugh Garden including admission prices and location go to their Facebook by clicking here.
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