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A quick look at the Cooperative Extension Demonstration Gardens

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Photo: Jon Estrada

Who’s in charge? The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, an outreach college designed to share knowledge through classes, Master Gardeners and all-around expertise.

Mission: Demo gardens illustrate how to develop and maintain a healthy garden and desert landscaping through water-efficiency, raised planters, soils, composts, ground covers and small-space gardening methods.

Location: 8050 Paradise Road, 702-275-5556, unce.unr.edu/counties/clark.

Active season: Year-round. Open to the public Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., with Friday tours at 10 a.m.

Grounds: Pathways take visitors through different gardens—rows of produce, raised planters, flowering perennials, desert trees, ground covers and shrubs. Grown for education rather than entertainment, the flora has a relationship with the environment shown in growth behavior, mulch, irrigation techniques and shade. That there isn’t much shade affirms Master Gardener claims that with the right soil and water, we can grow anything here.

What grows? Everything you’d expect and some things you wouldn’t, from roses and fruits to herbs and grains to agave and palm trees. There are also test gardens, including one where they’re trying to cultivate 20 varieties of milkweed.

Classes: Workshops are offered throughout the year. Topics range from preparing rose gardens for summer heat to problem-solving pests issues.

Why check it out? These gardens prove that growing in this climate can be fruitful and relatively easy once the soil is amended, watering is strategized and planting style is determined. Paths through the area allow for educational sightseeing of thriving life in the desert.

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