Dig into gardening with Douglas County club

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

From maintaining flower planters to learning how to facilitate better horticultural practices in gardens, the Douglas County Garden Club provides a place for people to come together to nurture beauty in the community by protecting its natural resources.

When Jean Spahr moved to Castle Rock from the Chicago area, she quickly found gardening in Douglas County was completely different than the Midwest.

“I was a little discouraged,” said Spahr.

After talking to a friend who had joined a garden club in their own community, Spahr found the Douglas County Garden Club in 2018.

In 1985, eight members of the community started the Douglas County Garden Club. Now, there are nearly 57 members.

Upcoming vice president, Jeanne Ricci moved to Douglas County from California. Not knowing much about the soil situation in the Colorado climate, Ricci joined the garden club after being invited to a meeting by a neighbor.

“I was just really interested in learning more about what kinds of plants you could plant and how that might work for me in my little gardening endeavors,” said Ricci.

On the first Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. members gather for a meeting to socialize and learn about gardening techniques.

Typically, the meetings take place at the Philip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock, but on occasion, the club will meet in an open space.

The meetings start with snacks and refreshments while members catch up with one another. They will then have a guest speaker and learn about different gardening topics. Previously, guest speakers have been natural resource specialists from local parks and recreation programs, an ambassador from Tagawa Gardens and a lead volunteer from Hudson Gardens.

Speakers also include the club’s own members. The members of the club range from no knowledge of gardening to master gardeners through the Colorado State University Extension program.

“I learned about amending our Colorado soil,” said Spahr. “Our soil here, some is sandy, some is clay.”

According to the Colorado State University Extension program, due to the state’s high elevation, low