Eastern Kentucky University will hold a dedication ceremony for Carloftis Garden on Friday, May 12.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Keen Johnson Building (moved from the garden site because of the threat of inclement weather). The garden is located near the intersection of Lancaster Avenue and Park Drive, adjacent to Turner Gate and New Martin Hall, construction of which will be complete this year. The public is welcome to attend the ceremony.
The ceremony will include special remarks from Jon Carloftis, the Rockcastle County native and internationally renowned landscape designer who designed the campus space.
The garden is located on the former site of the Martin Hall tennis courts. (The University’s outdoor courts are now located on Kit Carson Drive on the south side of the Eastern By-Pass.)
Carloftis, who received an honorary doctor of humanities degree when he addressed EKU graduates in 2014, grew up along the banks of the Rockcastle River in the Appalachian foothills. He is known today as “Gardener to the Stars,” having launched his career as a rooftop garden designer in New York City, and one of America’s pioneers and leading authorities on small-space gardening.
He is the owner of Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens, with offices in Lexington and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, as well as the Rockcastle River Trading Company, a popular home and garden store on his family’s property in Livingston, Kentucky.
Carloftis Garden is just one component of the University’s ongoing campus revitalization plan, which includes new academic facilities, residence halls and dining hall, as well as various aesthetic enhancements, among other current and planned projects, all designed to transform the living and learning experience for EKU students.