Western Colorado Botanical Gardens In Grand Junction CO visit the best botanical garden in western Colorado.
In 1961, a committee was formed to establish a public arboretum and nature preserve in Western Colorado Botanical Gardens In Grand Junction CO. Through a cooperative agreement between Mesa County Land Improvement Company and The City of Grand Junction this site became part of the park system. It opened to the public for passive recreation in 1973, following its purchase by Mesa County from Colorado Cities Water Company at cost on December 18, 1969. Grand Valley Nursery on South Avenue supplied trees and shrubs for landscaping work on the property.
The development of this new community resource was led by Dr. Robert Hammock (1925–2004), who was professor of biology at Colorado Mesa University (then Mesa State College) and director of the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens In Grand Junction CO.
The Western Colorado Botanical Gardens In Grand Junction CO has over 180,000 square feet (16,700 m2) of public gardens including a rock garden , butterfly-hummingbird garden, herb garden, native plant garden, wetland gardens and a section devoted to water-wise landscaping. A unique feature of this public botanical garden is a series of rare fescue grasslands located throughout the grounds. The site provides habitat for a mammal community made up mostly of small rodents such as mice and voles. Bird species include roadrunners, western meadowlarks, phoebes androsbeaks.