Community can
become part of the community's garden
December 23, 2004
CHARLA BORCHERS LEON and
In the spirit of giving, the Victoria County Master Gardeners have given
back to the community nearly 7,500 recorded hours in direct community service
this year. Now during this season of giving to others, a new gift to the
community is under way with expansion of Victoria Educational Gardens (VEG)
commencing at the beginning of 2005.
According to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), nearly 40
million Americans took a garden tour or participated in some garden-related
travel activity in the mid- to late 1990s. Nearly three-fourths of garden
travelers (71 percent) visited a botanical garden; 36 percent attended a garden
show or festival; and 29 percent went on some sort of garden tour. Another 16
percent participated in some other gardening activity. These facts illustrate
the growing interest in planned gardens and educational-related activities
associated with them around the country. Interest in gardening in
While VEG is completely planned, constructed and maintained by the Victoria
County Master Gardener Association (VCMGA), it is a part of the educational
program of Texas Cooperative Extension and Texas A&M
University System in
VEG, in fact, helps to guide young people as well as adults to a lifelong
appreciation for the living world and their part in its ecosystem. This outdoor
learning site is open daily, free to the public from dawn until dusk, and is
almost in your extended back yard a short distance away - on the grounds of
As a destination hands-on learning site for youth, gardening enthusiasts and
the general public, VEG is currently home to Phase I, which consists of the
intricately designed children's garden and vegetable garden. These areas can be
seen on the accompanying diagram to the right and west side of the Officer's
Club with concentric shaped design patterns in the children's garden as well as
more traditional mini-garden shapes surrounding the center focus gazebo in the
vegetable garden. With the generous support of the community in 2001, both of
these gardens became a reality in the spring of 2003.
Butterfly, birding, sensory and native gardens, as well as whimsical
elements like alphabet stepping stones, colored cement butterfly and sun face
patios, a stocked water lily fish pond, and a life-size birdhouse classroom
provide the perfect setting for children in this learning environment. Children
hop through door and window openings of the birdhouse pretending to be birds
flittering to and fro from the classroom benches inside the birdhouse while
learning about the berries and seeds the birding area provides. The butterfly area
challenges the imagination with flitting butterflies laying eggs on host plants
and turning first into caterpillars, then back to butterflies in their
continuous life cycle.
Garden structures and hundreds of marked plants in designed beds outlining pathways
and sidewalks have provided "a classroom in the garden" setting for
thousands of area youth and visitors to the community. Guided educational tours
are available by contacting VCMGA at
The year-round producing vegetable garden is graced by an entrance arbor and
a welcoming gazebo with bench seating for several at a time. The raised gardens
are wheel chair accessible and are designed to accommodate the needs of all
citizens interested in working in or visiting them. Vegetable garden produce is
used or donated to worthy organizations in the community to help feed the less
fortunate of the community.
Due to the generosity of Crossroads Foundation, VEG contains a
fully-mechanized greenhouse for propagation and care of Master Gardener plants.
Constructed by Master Gardeners with oversight assistance from licensed
professionals, the greenhouse serves as the setting for demonstration projects
with controlled growing conditions - which supports
the educational component of the Master Gardener program.
The groundwork has been completed with success and Texas Master Gardener
recognition, and plans are ready to bloom into action for the additional phases
of the garden, which will encompass the entire surrounding grounds of the old Foster
Field Officer's Club. Research of the old military base field maps puts history
into play with a previously existing swimming pool, patio with flagpoles,
airfield dining facility, and more. Each of these foundation structures will be
used in a creative and converted way to comprise VEG, phases II-V, and are
planned to be the next fruits of labor for this continued destination garden in
The master plan for the expansion includes approximately 15 mini gardens,
some of which include a patio garden with container plants, a water garden with
bridge, a tropical garden, rose and daylily gardens, a turf grass variety
display area with wildscape and xeriscape
gardens, a seasonal garden, cut flower garden, shade garden, heirloom and
historic gardens and a meditation garden.
In addition, there will be various garden structures including a gazebo
large enough for hosting small ensembles and ceremonies, pergolas, a 60-foot
covered arbor connecting the existing side of VEG to the new area, a labyrinth
in the meditation area, fountains and benches in the common grounds area, and
much more.
Imagine plants and bulbs that were grown in your grandparents' gardens,
patriotic plants grown at
There will be something for everyone who enters and explores the grounds of
VEG, and the Master Gardeners invite you to be a part of the giving campaign to
help make their gift to the community a reality.
If only the now quiet patio, swimming pool and lawn of the vintage Officer's
Club at the former Foster Field could come alive again, stories would unfold to
help determine the exact structural items that will support the new garden expansion.
Budgeted at a cost of approximately $150,000, a fund-raising program that began
this fall will continue with contributions being sought from direct contact
with the community for underwriting opportunities and general funding support.
If interested in donating to help insure this educational gift to the
community, contact the Master Gardeners at vcmga@vicad.com or call 361-575-4581.
Financial assistance of any size - small or large - is a most welcomed gift. As
a viable non-profit, donations to VCMGA are fully deductible to the extent of
the law.
In the truest spirit of giving, may the beauty and serenity of nature abound in your lives this holiday weekend. Merry Christmas to one and all.