The Birth of the South County Teaching & Demonstration Garden (SCTDG)

In the spring of 2009 the Gilroy Rotary Club invited the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County to give a presentation explaining who they are and what they do. Bette Lloyd, MG’99, made the presentation and closed by asking if anyone knew of a good place for a Demo Garden in the south county. Master Gardeners who have lived in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Martin were looking for a site to start a project. Michele Averill, CEO of Saint Louise Regional Hospital Foundation, had an available piece of land on the hospital grounds. She and Bette started the conversation about the project and Michelle offered the land right then and there.

By August 2009, after dealing with the legal and business aspects of the project, a partnership between Master Gardeners, Santa Clara County and the Saint Louise Regional Hospital Foundation had been formed. The mission of the project is to extend University of California horticulture-based information to the residents of the south county with the goal of developing sustainable gardens. It was also decided that the fruit and vegetables raised in the demo garden would be donated to St. Joseph’s Family Center of Gilroy and/or the hospital cafeteria depending on their needs.

Late into August 2009, a small team of Master Gardeners started to prepare the designated area for gardening. It had never been cultivated before, was full of weeds, and needed an irrigation system installed. This is when we needed much support and the community responded in a big way. The business community donated and delivered lots of mulch, compost, and cardboard - and they still do when needed. Local Boy Scouts and youth groups donated their time to help MGs with digging, weeding, mulching and raking. From the beginning the hospital provided water and electrical services free of charge.

Later, in the fall of 2009, we had made enough progress to start thinking about a preliminary design.Master Gardener and landscaping designer Agi Kehoe prepared a conceptual design and planting plan which included our suggestions as well as her professional input.We were ready to plant.

The California Native Garden was the first section to be planted in mid spring 2010. Included are shrubs, trees, grasses and annuals. It looks great this year! We also built ten raised beds during that time, all fitted with drip irrigation hardware. Later in the season vegetables, herbs and some ornamentals were planted in these raised beds. It was decided that tomato plants would be planted directly into the ground. By this time we had enough rose bushes donated, heirloom and other varieties, to complete the demonstration rose garden. It is a sea of color right now.

During the summer and fall of 2010 the MGs donated about 250 lbs of produce to St. Joseph’s Family Center as well as to the hospital’s kitchen. We also decorated many offices with zinnias and sweet peas.

South County MGs started 2011 with several resolutions: 1) complete the irrigation system, 2) purchase and install a Garden Shed, 3) plant fruit trees in the orchard area, 4) complete one section of perimeter beds,
5) build a garden entry arbor.

We did accomplish everything except the arbor, which currently is in progress. Of course, additional irrigation hardware has to be installed every time a new section is planted. After we purchased and installed a 10x12 garden shed we bought some tools and now no longer need to haul our own wheelbarrows and other tools to the garden. Our fruit orchard which was planted in February has 28 trees: apples, Asian pears, citrus, nectarines, peaches, persimmons, etc. The newest bed along the perimeter has been planted with natives and drought resistant plants. The wine barrels donated by a local winery have also been planted with perennial herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano) and potatoes.

Currently, the MGs are in the process of planting summer vegetables and ornamentals. The tomatoes and peppers are already in the ground! A melon trial is in the works too. We hope that soon we will be able to fulfill one of the basic principles of our organization by offering free on-site garden workshops.

South County MGs wish to thank the following donors: ST. LOUISE REGIONAL HOSPITAL FOUNDATION, Jane Azevedo, Brian Humphrey from Pleasant Valley Tree Care, Boy Scout Troops 707 and 708 of Gilroy, City of Gilroy, Dave Wilson Nursery (who donated all the fruit trees for the orchard), Google – Doug Coker, Guglielmo Winery, Home Depot, Regan Nursery of Roses, South Valley Recology, South County Rockery, Summer Winds Nursery, Temple-Inland Box Company, Young Men and Women Group, Church of Latter Day Saints, Gilroy. Special thanks to Jane Azevedo for building the Bug House.

Please stop by and visit us sometime. Our scheduled work day is Monday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and we now have regular workshops in the garden on Saturdays - check the Event Calendar for the next workshop. The address is 9400 No Name Uno on the St Louise Regional Hospital site in Gilroy.  Exit Maston from 101 heading south, make the first right over the freeway onto No Name Uno, follow the road approximately two miles and the hospital will be on your right. Follow the signs and park in the lot across from the main entrance.

We are Robin Bastianelli, Joan Cloutier, Jane Cohen, Michael Cohen, Mary Coker, Telma Cramer, Tina Geyer, David Giroux, Suna Herder,   Virginia Janovitch, Diane Johnson, Glenn Lattig, Bette Lloyd, Larry Speth , Pam Underwood, and Sue Van Stee.

Suna Herder, MG ‘05