There are two MGCC Gardens in West County: the Low Water Garden in Richmond, a Master Gardener of Contra Costa County (MGCC) demonstration garden, and the Water Conservation Garden in El Cerrito. We hereby note that a Seasonal Update on our East and Central Demo Gardens has also been published in a separate article of this fall issue.
Very Distinct Gardens
Learn how the Water Conservation Garden thrives—don’t miss Master Gardener volunteer Lori Palmquist’s insightful article featured in this fall issue.
For the Low Water Garden, we interviewed Master Gardener volunteer Brian Kerss, who, along with Master Gardener volunteer Dan Lent, is the co-lead of the Low Water Garden in Richmond.
What is the history and mission of the Low Water Garden?
The Low Water Garden actually got its start back in 2005 in the middle of one of California’s many droughts, as a collaboration between East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and the City of Richmond to demonstrate to the residents of the city how easy it was to save water by planting a low-water landscape. EBMUD took the lead on the design and layout of the garden, and the City took on its ongoing maintenance. It was designed to demonstrate resource-efficient gardening. But, over the years, the garden was neglected, and by 2018, when Master Gardener volunteers of Contra Costa joined the partnership with the City of Richmond and EBMUD, the garden was overrun with weeds, and many of the original plants had also died.
What has been the role of MGCC?
MGCC volunteers took on the responsibility for redevelopment of the entire Low Water Garden and for its ongoing maintenance. We cleared its weeds, removed plants that didn’t belong, and installed a whole new drip system. There was, for example, lots of bermuda grass growing throughout the garden. We used sheet mulching to remove this tenacious, noxious grass.
What has been the greatest challenge MGCC has faced at the Low Water Garden?
The garden is located in the Richmond Civic Center. It is next to the main parking lot for the area, which also includes the library, the Catholic Church, and school across the street. We often need to remind ourselves that this is an urban garden in the heart of a large city, open to the public at all times. There’s unfortunately always lots of trash to pick up, and we sometimes lose a plant.
What has been most gratifying about the work of MGCC at the Low Water Garden?
We have transformed the entire garden! It is now a very beautiful, natural landscape with a variety of habitats that, at any time of the year you happen to visit, are filled with many wonderful plants well-suited to our Bay Area summer-dry climate. Visitors now stop by regularly and tell us how much the garden means to them. Recently, a city employee told us how much she enjoys walking the garden’s paths.
That always makes our work worthwhile!
Read and learn how the West County Water Conservation Garden thrives
Read more Seasonal Updates on our Demo Gardens in East and Central County