Projects

Demonstration and Research Facilities

Through our demonstration gardens, education programs, and research projects, we hope to enlighten ourselves and our community with knowledge that will improve horticulture practices in Santa Clara County.

We have projects across the entire county.  Check out our project map for details on where we're working and read more about what we do by scrolling down on this page.

Demonstration Gardens

Palo Alto Demonstration Garden (PADG)

(Palo Alto)
(Map)

MG Field Project PADG
The Master Gardeners have a established two demonstration gardens in Eleanor Pardee Community Gardens located on Center Road near Martin Street in Palo Alto. The first garden, the edible garden, is open Monday mornings and the first Saturday of the month from 10 am to 1 pm. MGs demonstrate a variety of typical and unusual vegetables as well as fruit trees and ornamental annual planting areas.
The second garden area, demonstrating a water-wise natural garden, is unfenced and always open. There one will discover the beauty that a low water use garden can produce.

Presentation Center Retreat Demonstration Garden

(Los Gatos)
MG Field Project Presentation

In 2004, the Master Gardeners established a new demonstration garden at Presentation Center, an international retreat and educational gathering place. Nestled in the woody foothills of Los Gatos, this organic sustainable garden provides produce for the Center's dining hall. It was established directly on the site of an abandoned tennis court by layering gravel and soil.

Sunnyvale Teaching and Demonstration Garden (STDG)

(Sunnyvale)
MG Field Project STDG

The garden within Sunnyvale's Charles Street Community Garden is open whenever the community garden gates are open. STDG Master Gardeners hold monthly public classes on organic, sustainable gardening. These techniques and principles are put into practice by using them in the MG demonstration garden. Emphasis is on use of recycled, recyclable or salvaged materials in garden construction and demonstrating organic and sustainable growing techniques.

Guadalupe Demonstration Garden

(San Jose)
MG Field Projects GDG

Guadalupe Demonstration Garden was started in 2009 through partnering with the Friends of the Guadalupe River Parks & Gardens, South Bay Water Recycling, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District. This demonstration garden is particularly interesting because this the first community garden in California to be irrigated with recycled water.

Emma Prusch Farm Park

(San Jose)
MG Field Projects at Prusch Park

Emma Prusch Park is San Jose city park located at 647 South King Road, San Jose, near the intersection of Highways 101 and 680. Master Gardeners monitor four projects at the park including a High Density Fruit Orchard, Drought Tolerant Children's Garden, Perennial Color Wheel and Rare Fruit Orchard. FFA and other youth organizations keep farm animals at the park.
A Compost Demonstration Site was set up by Master Composter volunteers showing home composting and includes several commercial composting bins including a homemade worm box.

Research Facilities

McClellan Ranch Project

(Cupertino)
MG Project McClellan Ranch

Master Gardeners conduct vegetable trials to help the public learn about growing tasty alternatives to the standard vegetable varieties sold in supermarkets. Each year the MGs conduct a trial on a different vegetable, comparing growth patterns and needs as well as production and quality of produce. This field project is located at the community garden in McClellan Ranch Park, 22221 McClellan Road, Cupertino.

Nine Palms Ranch

(San Jose)
MG Project Nine Palms

The Master Gardener program maintains a two acre site in San Jose that has been established for research and demonstration use only. This area has been developed with greenhouses, shade house, sheds and growing beds for the MGs to conduct trials. Research projects include Mediterranean peppers, berry trials, new vegetable varieties, tomato trials, year-round cut flowers, vegetable variety comparisons and much more.

Associated Projects

Corporate Outreach

MG Corporate Outreach
A large underserved gardening population in Santa Clara County is the Silicon Valley high tech workforce. To reach this group, we are initiating garden areas at the various Silicon Valley corporate locations. Each garden will act as a demonstration and teaching garden, showing the high tech, corporate populous of Santa Clara County how to grow their own food as well as beneficial, native species of plants.

 

FireSafe Demonstration Garden

(Morgan Hill)
MG Project FireSafe
As a joint effort between the Santa Clara County Master Gardeners and CalFire, this demonstration garden demonstrates how a homeowner can landscape in an attractive fashion and still maintain property as safe from fire danger as possible. This garden is located in south county in an area where fire danger is generally high.

 

Gamble Garden

(Palo Alto)
MG Project Gamble Garden

At the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Center there is an auxiliary Master Gardener office. Master Gardeners staff a hotline office and phone line to discuss any plant problems that arise. The hotline number is (650) 329-1356 and operates Fridays from 1 to 4 pm. There is also a monthly plant clinic so MGs can offer advice on plant problems. The address is 1431 Waverley Street in Palo Alto.

Muriel M. Wright Residential Center

(South San Jose)
MG Project Muriel Wright

Working with the Santa Clara County Education Department, the Master Gardeners teach life skills through gardening classes at the Wright Residential Center. MGs teach the basics about gardening and the principles of growing plants allowing the residents to practice these skills in their own garden area. In addition, MGs are implementing the construction of a garden between two dormitory wings on the Wright Ranch property.

Education Programs

Through our educational projects, we take our research-based knowledge and present it to the public. These projects center around schools and adult education programs. Teachers are always needed and special tutoring is available.

Generation Connection

MG Generation Connection

Teaching Garden - This Santa Clara Adult Education Program class is taught at the Adult Community Education Center, 1830 Benton Street, Santa Clara. The site is a 2-acre fenced area containing community garden plots. Worm bins, compost piles, chicken coops and an on-site greenhouse add to the educational program taught by the Master Gardeners.

Generation Connection Mountain View - a program created in the Santa Clara "Teaching Garden". Grade school children and adult volunteers, including Master Gardeners, explore the garden and its inhabitants in the spring and fall at the Mountain View Senior Center Garden. This is a joint project with the Mountain View - Los Altos Adult Education Program.

Homesteaders Ranch

MG Homesteaders Ranch
A youth led gardening project with a Master Gardener advisor using the Junior Master Gardener curriculum, with school aged children tours and a long-term goal of a Beneficial Bug Day.