Members of Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV) have developed and maintain seven demonstration gardens in Arlington and Alexandria, VA. MGNV also has partnered with Arlington Regional Master Naturalists and adopted a joint demonstration garden in Alexandria. In each of these gardens, the community can see first hand the types of plants that grow well in our area. Some plants may even surprise you! You can also learn recommended planting practices, and overall garden care. Visitors can also simply stop by for a while, and enjoy each garden’s unique beauty.
The gardens contain a large variety of plants. Old favorites grow alongside new experimental varieties. Volunteers maintain the gardens throughout the year using the practices and techniques learned in the VCE Master Gardener training program and monthly continuing education programs. If you see a work party in progress, stop by and talk to our volunteers. They’ll be pleased to show you the gardens and answer your questions.
Please see below for locations and maps to the gardens. For more information on each individual garden, please click the name of the garden.
The Buddie Ford Nature Center Garden, at 5750 Sanger Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22311 on the grounds of the Jerome “Buddie” Ford Nature Center, is our newest demonstration garden. This pollinator garden includes native plants that attract and support pollinators, as well as other insects and wildlife. The garden also offers a learning space, inviting members of the community to gather to learn more about the wonders of nature and the importance of native plants.
The Glencarlyn Library Community Garden, at the corner of S. 3rd and S. Kensington Streets in an historic Arlington neighborhood, is a Certified Wildlife Habitat and Monarch Waystation, featuring beds for pollinators, herbs, sun and shade species, Asian and native plants, tropicals, and plants to delight children.
The Master Gardener Tribute Garden, at the Fairlington Community Center in Arlington, features a bench honoring all master gardeners and contains primarily native plants that attract birds and offer an ever-changing show of color and texture throughout the seasons.
Photo © 2016 by Nancy Dowling
The Organic Vegetable Garden, at Potomac Overlook Regional Park on Marcy Road in Arlington, demonstrates organic gardening techniques. The expert volunteers can answer your questions about vegetable gardening. Veggies are donated to local food banks.
The Quarry Shade Garden, in Bon Air Park in Arlington, is a Certified Wildlife Habitat with rocks, terraced slopes, shade, part-shade, and sun. The first of the MGNV demonstration gardens, it features many plants native to our area and to the eastern U.S., along with well-adapted, non-invasive exotics.
The Simpson Park Demonstration Garden, at Simpson Park in Alexandria, is an urban garden and haven for people, pollinators, and wildlife. Thirteen garden beds showcase a diverse range of native plants and trees, ornamental perennials, and unusual specimens.
The Small Space Garden, at the Fairlington Community Center in Arlington, focuses on plants appropriate to small areas, like patios, containers, and balconies. Visitors will see vegetables, fruit, and herbs growing intermixed with ornamental plants in beds on the ground, in two raised beds, in containers, and up fences and trellises.
The Sunny Garden, also at Bon Air Park in Arlington, features flowering plants and shrubs that thrive in the northern Virginia area and demonstrates the best management practices for their care and inclusion in sunny landscapes.