Garden oasis opens at Arlington Memorial

ARLINGTON - A small oasis has opened near Arlington Memorial Hospital's entry, within walking distance of busy Randol Mill Road.

Serenity Park, a 4,000-square-foot garden, is colored with crape myrtles, Japanese maples and redbuds. Two trickling water fountains feed into rocky creek beds, and a dirt path leads visitors to several concrete benches.

The meditation garden, unveiled Monday, is a place to get a break from the hospital, officials said.

"We realized that there wasn't a peaceful place at the hospital for employees and patients to go," said Judi Shirey, Arlington Memorial's director of volunteer services.

Hospital administrators, employees and volunteers raised more than $20,000 for the park, created by landscape designer Michelle Feaginof Fort Worth. A memorial honors a former hospital employee, Mary Lyle of Benbrook, who worked at the hospital for 25 years before retiring. She died in January.

This report includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.