Our community demonstration gardens are for all to enjoy
By Ann Briggs
WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardener
During the month of January, Master Gardener writers are continuing with our garden theme of the “Good, Bad and Ugly.” This is my take on this common topic:
The Good: We’re fortunate to have the Community Education Garden (CEG) as a free resource for gardeners in the Wenatchee Valley. This demonstration garden is located at 1100 N. Western Ave. at the intersection with Springwater Avenue in Wenatchee.
The CEG has 11 themed gardens that are designed, planted and maintained by WSU Chelan/Douglas County Master Gardeners. These gardens are open to the public year-round for self-guided tours. The CEG also has its own Little Free Library with garden books available to share. (Like other little libraries, if you take a book, try to bring one back to share with others.)
During the growing season, the CEG serves as a venue for free classes by Master Gardeners on a variety of gardening topics such as pruning, lawn care and lawn alternatives, irrigation, and pollinators, just to name a few. To learn about these classes held on the first Friday and the third Saturday of every month throughout late spring and summer, as well as other events at the CEG, visit the website at bit.ly/cdmgclasses. A 2026 class schedule should be available sometime next month.
The CEG is just one of the main locations managed by local Master Gardeners. The other demonstration gardens are the Xeriscape Garden at Riverfront Park in Wenatchee, the Bridge of Friendship Japanese Garden in East Wenatchee, the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery Pollinator Garden in Leavenworth and the Boswell Garden at the Chelan County Expo Center in Cashmere.
The Bad: Unfortunately, some visitors to the CEG haven’t been able to resist the temptation to take flowers, vegetables and, on occasion, entire plants for themselves. We ask that people leave all flowers, vegetables and plants for others to appreciate. It’s easy to think that no one will miss a single flower or veggie; however; if everyone who visited the garden thought the same, soon there would be nothing left to look at.
If you are visiting the garden and see someone doing something that doesn’t look right, you could give them a friendly reminder that taking items home is not allowed. Or, if you prefer not to confront a person, you can report what you saw to the Chelan/Douglas Master Gardener Program Office at 509-667-6540. If you witness someone being destructive to plants or structures, contacting RiverCom’s non-emergency number (509-663-9911) would be the safest option.
The Ugly: Although the CEG garden is a lovely place to walk your dog, we ask that you not allow your pet to urinate on the plants and trees. As most dog owners know, once a plant has been marked as “territory” by one dog, others will want to do the same. Dog urine is high in nitrogen and salts; it acts like an overload of fertilizer, burning the plant’s roots and causing dead and brown spots. As someone who helps manage the All Things Woody Garden at the CEG, I noticed this type of damage last summer on the dwarf spruce shrubs along the pathway. If this is allowed to continue happening, the plants might die. These public demonstration gardens are a treasure for all to enjoy. We ask that you do your part to keep them healthy and vibrant.
A WSU Chelan-Douglas County Master Gardener column appears weekly in The Wenatchee World. To learn more about the local Master Gardener program, visit bit.ly/MGchelandouglas or call (509) 667-6540.