South Park Demonstration Garden

The South Park Demonstration Garden is located at the intersection of Corrigan Drive and McConkey Road, just down the road from South Park’s Wave Pool (map it!). In the spring of 1998, the garden was started in a grassy field with a road on one side and sloping woodlands on the other.

There are no barriers to keep away the abundant wildlife—deer, groundhogs, raccoons, turkeys and rabbit roam freely. However, the adjoining woods provide shelter for the other creatures we encourage—birds, bees and butterflies.

For the first six years after the gardens were installed, water was hauled to garden in a 50 gallon barrel. Finally, in 2004 a water source was added to the garden, and the Master Gardeners were able to water the garden using hoses—oh, happy day!

The garden now includes 12 annual display beds, and this spring we are adding a mixed border of native shrubs, trees and perennials, along with a garden bench! The current training class is also building an arbor for the entrance of the garden.

During the growing season, Master Gardeners care for the garden and answer the public’s questions on Tuesday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. This year Master Gardeners volunteered a total of 270 hours in the South Park Garden.

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