The entrance gate to Blake’s Garden, a greenspace and educational garden created at Garfield Park in memory of Blake Bowell. The garden celebrated its fifth anniversary in July.
Inside Indianapolis’ Garfield Park, a testament to a life well-lived is thriving.
July marked the fifth anniversary of the dedication of Blake’s Garden at Garfield Park. The greenspace, which used to be the children’s garden, is dedicated to the life Blake Bowell, who died on June 5, 2017, from a rare form of brain cancer, glioblastoma.
Bowell grew up on the southside of Indianapolis. He played at Garfield Park, worked at the park and spent some of his last days on earth at the park. He loved Garfield Park, family members said.
Visitors enter the garden through a gate designed and fabricated by bo-mar Industries, which were designed to match the historic gates at the entrance of Garfield Park’s Sunken Garden. Fritz Nerding, a former park manager, worked to incorporate many of the other historical features of the park into Blake’s Garden. Bowell had spent many summers working at the park for Fritz during his high school years.
One of the first things people see once through the gate are an imprint of two of Blake’s running spikes, on the concrete — one from the Indiana track state finals in 2010 and another from Bowell’s time at the U.S. Naval Academy in 2011. Nearby is a sculpture, “Divine Light,” made by Kenzie Funk, longtime friend to Blake’s sister, Lakin. The sculpture incorporates messages friends and family wrote to and about Bowell.
“Blake’s Garden means the world to me. There are many aspects in the garden that are symbols of him and what he loved from the imprint of the spikes at the entrance, to the beautiful sculpture my best friend, Kenzie Funk designed, created and installed,” said Lakin Bowell Khamis, Bowell’s sister and vice president of the BlakeStrong Bowell Fund. “In 2020 my husband proposed to me in front of the sculpture to honor Blake.”
Past the sculpture is an area known as Fran’s Place, after the wife of P.E. MacAllister, long time supporter of the park and friend of the Bowell family. The area features concrete benches set up in a circular pattern to be used as an educational space for students on field trips.
“Five years ago my hope and prayer was for Blake’s Garden to be part of his legacy and to have a place where children and families could come and enjoy a beautiful and educational area of the park that was very near and dear to him. I have been blessed to hear stories of how people have spent time in the garden and how wonderful and special it is,” said LeDania Carmichael, Bowell’s mother and treasurer of the BlakeStrong Bowell Fund.
Along with Fran’s Place the garden has numerous other educational areas incorporated throughout it. An alphabet garden lines the left fence inside the gates, showing a plant that begins with each letter in the alphabet. On top of the alphabet garden there is also a pollinator garden, a fruit and vegetable garden and a decomposing log and soil area with information on the process of decomposition in nature.
The garden also features a chicken coop that was reinstalled by Indy Parks and Recreation in 2020 to be used for additional learning opportunities. Parkgoers can watch the chickens and try to see if there are any eggs.
“My hope is that the garden gains even greater prominence in our community and that thousands of individuals and children are able to enjoy it,” said Mark Bowell, Bowell’s father and president of the BlakeStrong Bowell Fund.
Blake’s Garden is located on the east side of the park near the conservatory. It is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. No pets allowed in Blake’s Garden but they are more than welcome throughout the rest of Garfield Park.
For more information about Blake’s Garden, the learning opportunities, garden etiquette or other information about Garfield Park visit garfieldgardensconservatory.org/blakesgarden.
