By Dawn Fradkin, Horticulture Programs Coordinator and Assistant Horticulturist

Arapahoe County has eight demonstration gardens that Colorado Master Gardener volunteers maintain to educate communities about growing food, creating pollinator habitats, and teaching general gardening topics. Most of the produce is donated to area food banks or partner organizations. In 2024, the gardens grew and donated 6,590.5 pounds of produce. The demonstration gardens also conduct classes on a number of topics, from growing tomatoes to attracting pollinators, and are open to the public. See a complete list here. Each garden has something new for the 2025 season.

Colorado Center for the Blind –CMGs will spruce up the grounds around the Legacy Garden and create a garden ambassador program for the CCB students. This is a special garden where CMGs teach the blind students how to grow their own food using horticultural therapy concepts. The food goes back to the school, to be used in their culinary classes.

Pea Patch – The CMG plots in this City of Littleton community garden will receive a facelift. The wooden raised planter beds will be rebuilt this spring with the help of Girl Scout Troop #65595. The beds should be ready by May, just in time to start planting.

Clayton Elementary School – The CMGs at the Clayton Garden support the student plots and teach the kids about garden topics. The pumpkin patch will get new trellises to grow birdhouse gourds so students can decorate their own birdhouses for the gardens. Their garden harvest giveaway event will happen again in the fall for the school families.

Plains Conservation Center – We are excited that this CMG demonstration garden will finally be irrigated this season, fed by a water tank next to the garden! This heirloom vegetable and herb garden is grown in partnership with Denver Botanic Gardens. It is curated for a demonstration and teaching garden that displays what pioneer settlers would have grown.

Lima Pollinator Garden – Our pollinator garden will get a refresh with new mulch and plants. Surrounding the Arapahoe County Extension office, this garden is also where we count and document Colorado bee species for the Native Bee Watch Program. Join us for a pollinator class and garden tour to see what’s buzzing and blooming.

Silo Park – The CMGs at the Silo Park demonstration garden have undertaken a regenerative no-till initiative in this vegetable garden, to concentrate on soil health in the new raised beds installed two years ago.

Cheyenne-Arapaho Park Community Garden – The CMG team leads for this demonstration garden have created a Kids Gardening Club for the surrounding community. This demonstration garden focuses on education for both kids and adults.

Hudson Gardens – This CMG demonstration garden will receive several new metal beds, that will be added to the sunnier, northwest side of the garden. The location of the new beds will help increase the garden’s vegetable production.

Stop by the gardens this season to check them out and chat with a master gardener.