New trees planted in Discovery Garden

The Mesa County Libraries Discovery Garden has a forest of young, new trees that will welcome garden visitors for decades.

The trees were acquired through a grant from Friends of Mesa County Libraries and were planted in the Wilderness Garden section that fronts Fifth Street. The Discovery Garden is located at Fifth Street and Chipeta Avenue, one block north of the Central Library.

Volunteers planted the trees May 29 and will care for them as they grow. Among the tree varieties planted are Cologreen upright juniper, Washington hawthorn, Shademaster honeylocust, Prairie Fire and Royal Raindrops crabapple, Austrian pine, Flowering Thundercloud plum, Schubert Red chokecherry, and Flowering Chanticleer pear.

Also new in the Discovery Garden are two new microbasins, also known as bioswales, along Chipeta Avenue. The new microbasins will be planted with trees and grasses, similar to the existing microbasin at the northeast corner of the garden.

The idea behind the microbasins is to divert stormwater from the street into a landscaped basin, where it will water the vegetation and percolate through the soil. Microbasins are a sustainable way to reduce stormwater drainage from urban areas while putting the water to good use in a landscape.

The Discovery Garden is a series of interactive and demonstration gardens providing education, food, respite, and community engagement. Owned by Mesa County Libraries, the garden is operated primarily through generous grants and donations and valuable volunteers. The garden is open for walk-in visits daily from sunrise to sunset.