About our Demonstration Garden

The Demonstration Garden is a Public Educational Garden adopted by the Los Alamos Master Gardeners’ Club in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Departments located at the southeast corner of Oppenheimer Drive and Central Avenue.

The Demonstration Garden was started in 1990 by Solveig Palanek, Los Alamos County Cooperative Extension Service Horticultural Agent at the time, and Tom Trujillo, PRIDE Committee. Initial financing came from grants and donations, specifically from Keep New Mexico Beautiful grants. Donations from the cable television provider and from UNM-LA were also received. Private donations in amounts ranging from $100 - $500 were also received from private citizens and groups.

The community was invited to participate in the initial planting at the Xeriscape Garden. Graduates of the Master Gardener Program were the early curators of the Garden, supplying most of the labor entailed in such a project. The initial design of the garden was created by Solveig Palanek.

Since our adoption of the Garden in 1995, the LAMGC had coordinated our stewardship of the Garden primarily with the Parks Department. The Club has budgeted each year for the Garden. The Parks Department had projected budgets for the Garden in 1996 through 1998. We have provided in excess of 500 volunteer hours each year since our adoption in design, expansion, improvement, and general maintenance. Over the years, a number of memorial donations have been received.

The LAMGC has showcased the Demonstration Garden in its first two Garden Tours and in 1999. The Garden Tour is an annual, free event offered to the public by the Club. Public participation has grown from 250 in the first year (1995) to over 400 at the 1997-1999 and 2001 tours. We have approximately doubled the varieties of plants in the Garden since 1992. In 1996, we were recognized by the County Council for our work in the Garden.

The LAMGC plans to continue its stewardship and showcase of the Demonstration Garden indefinitely. We are dependent on cooperation and support from both the Parks & Recreation leadership and the Parks Department for continued success with the Garden.