Jackson Jambalaya

Close. The. Zoo.

It's really a beautiful garden to visit. Very peaceful-never crowded. The surrounding community doesn't go so once you are in the inside, it's safe.

One would think that marketing this and the Zoo (or some combination ticket cost) could help here. Saturdays are the day that people from out of town would most likely come to it--but since it's not marketed well, they don't. And who can blame them--you may be willing to leave the I55 corridor for a zoo, but not a garden..and once you drive by the zoo...

They should invite a consultant from the Biedenharn museum and garden in Monroe to talk options. There's always people in that place--and the gardens aren't nearly as extensive or beautiful--but it's successful!

I saw this earlier. As with the zoo....move it to a better, safer location and it will prosper...but that's impossible. As the song goes, Everything Has A Season (or something like that). Maybe it's time for winter to descend on The Gardens.

An unchecked, unlimited oil spill would eventually cover the planet, I suppose.

What a shame. Beautiful albeit practically unknown spot in the metro area.

Very shortly Mynelle Gardens will look like Colonial Country Club. At least, please let the zoo animals eat what they can before it is all gone.

Its still beautiful and very recently there was some capital improvement of some sort on the building next to it. I've never known what that building is but the city owns it. Maybe Mynelle's house. Anyway, don't write it off yet.

City does not have the backbone to make any decision that might stir a ruckus among a radical circle of people that never do anything but throw a ruckus. i.e., they hinted they might close a municipal golf close that was a 2 iron away from another municipal golf course. 4 people protested so they stopped. County offered to buy Eudora Welty and spend millions renovating it for the libary and EOC. City said no.

This is not leadership. Or should I say this is not leadership by the elected leaders. The city is being led by a bunch of community organizers that don't know how to do anything but cry foul. Ask them for actual answers.

Jackson has had, and continues to have, leadership that is more concerned with control and power that what is in the best interest of the city.

Last spring, we checked their Facebook page to make sure they would be open and headed over there after another event had taken us to Madison County. We drove up and the place was closed. At least n we assumed so since the door was locked even though the posted hours said it should be open. We left and haven't been back. It's a shame since it really is a beautiful garden.

So sad for such a beautiful place to have to slowly wither away. The three most important factors in real estate are location, location and location. Unfortunately what was once a prime location is now in the middle of a war zone.

There is some work being done as we speak. No idea what, but it is not abandoned. I suspect this would be a good time of year to go.

Two hundred and five (205) visitors in a complete year!!! Lets assume a five day week, although it appears it was a six day week. And that includes two weddings, which we should assume involved at least a dozen or so folks.

No higher math involved here - the two visitors per Saturday sounds like a high point, not a low point in the demand shown.

Its a beautiful place; nice to wander through and good venue for some purposes. But someone please tell me why it is only closing on Saturdays rather than in total.

The zoo. The Golf Course. Mynelle Gardens. Piles of other expenditures that the city doesn't want to tackle because someone will get butt-hurt about their little corner of the world getting left out.

Its time for the city to tackle some problems and put the spending priority and change in operational structure on what's important at this point in the city's life: Infrastructure, crime, education/schools. Other things are nice, but without fixing these there won't be a need for these nice gardens because no one will still be here.

Wait....Saturdays are the only day they should be open. That's when people go out and do stuff.

Posted earlier: "Anonymous said...What a shame. Beautiful albeit practically unknown spot in the metro area.October 15, 2018 at 1:54 PM"

Oh, really? It's been 'known' and heavily visited for decades. But because it's 'unknown' to you, it's 'practically unknown'?

And if this was your attempt to suggest it's had 205 visitors in a year because of the 'unknown location', you need to think again.

Jackson could buy and bulldoze every property on Capitol Street from I-220 to somewhere past the zoo to be green space (for now), and that entire area's perception would change. Something "radical" is needed if Jackson is to get out of this death spiral.

Except it's not exactly in bloom right now.

The issue is the location. Just like the zoo. It simply is not safe to visit either. The city will not acknowledge this for obvious reasons.

We visited the garden a couple of years ago. I was favorably impressed. That said, you are quite isolated wandering around the garden and well aware of the neighborhood issues. I would not go back unless it was with a group and/or had visible on site security.


Giving the place to a nonprofit as suggested above might help. City can't repair, improve or fix anything. The typical citizen doesn't even know it exists much less have an interest in visiting.