Livermore Demonstration Garden

ACMG Earth Friendly Demo Garden

Thanks to the generosity of the County of Alameda Community Development Department, the Master Gardener Program received access to a 7,000 square foot parcel of land in front of the county agricultural building located next to the new and stunning Martinelli center in the beautiful Livermore Valley wine country for a drought tolerant demonstration garden.

Its purpose is to provide an educational experience featuring "Water Wise" plants as an alternative to the traditional home landscape. The garden will focus on educational programs for the community and Master Gardener continuing education. Planting ideas for homeowners will be plentiful at the demonstration garden; it will include plants that are attractive, affordable, and readily available. These plants can easily be incorporated into home landscapes and will require very little water to maintain. We've been tracking our favorite plants each month over the last couple years.  If you're looking for inspiration in your own garden, check out what is blooming beautifully in each month of the year in our guides that highlight 2018 and 2019 favorites.

In the garden we also trial several plants for the UC Davis California Center for Urban Horticulture. We are growing plants that have made it through rigorous hardiness trials and documenting their growth and appearance in different environments. For more information about these plant trials, please visit the UC Davis California Center for Urban Horticulture's Trials Program webpage.

We also have many examples of the plants that have made it on the UC Davis Arboretum All Stars   which are plants that have made it through similar trials as the above and have been found to be tough, reliable, water-wise  plants.

A list of the plants used in the Livermore Demonstration Garden is located here: Earth Friendly Demo Garden plant list

Master Gardeners are on site the 2^nd Saturday of each month from 9:30-11:30am to answer plant and gardening questions.  Garden Talks on season appropriate topics occur at 10 am on the second Saturday of the month. 

 

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SPECIAL THANKS

This garden would not have been possible without special contributions from the following

• Rich Kerri of Kerri Landscape Services for the original design concept,
• Alameda County Public Work for the excavation and path building,
• Buena Vista Tree Service for constant supply of tree chips we use for mulch
• Grants from Nurserymen’s Association and Livermore Rotary
• Two grants from Livermore Amador Valley Garden Club to help fund our signage and central pergola.

Thanks again to these organizations for their support and community commitment.

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Directions:

Our Demonstration Garden is located at 3575 Greenville Road in Livermore

Map This Location

Take 580 east to the Greenville Road exit. Turn left at the stop sign after exiting, then turn right onto Greenville Road. Follow Greenville Road, you'll pass LLNL on your right, go up the hill and shortly after you start descending the hill you'll see the Martinelli Center and the garden on your right.