Fort Collins Audubon Society

Wildlife Habitat Garden Tour

Visit Five Unique Gardens Designed to Encourage and Sustain Wildlife

SATURDAY, June 13th, 2009

On Saturday, June 13th, 2009, tour five Fort Collins gardens designed to attract wildlife. This self-guided tour will run from 8am to 3pm. Each garden exhibits a distinctive approach to designing a bird, butterfly, or other wildlife-friendly garden. Ranging from a small Old town sideyard and a suburban corner to 9 acres, all are primarily designed and built by the owners and offer a learning opportunity for visitors. One is extremely low maintenance, one is a “pollinator garden”, one features native plants in a housing “common area”. Visitors learn how to create their own wildlife-friendly garden by adding plantings and features to support the food, shelter and water needs of a variety of animals.

Cost for the tour is $15, with children's tickets available at the gardens for $5. Visitors may purchase the "Field Guide Ticket" booklet from sponsors including Fort Collins Nursery, Ranch-Way Feeds, Wild Birds Unlimited, Bath Garden Center, Perennial Gardener, Creekside Garden Center, and The Gardens on Spring Creek. Garden addresses will be posted on the Audubon website in early June and tickets may also be purchased at any of the gardens on June 13th.

The “Guidebook Tour Ticket” includes maps and directions for the tour, lists of flowering plants, shrubs and trees recommended for attracting wildlife, lists of birds which have appeared in the gardens, and suggestions for designing or adding to your garden. Many of the plants are native plants or xeric plants and require less maintenance and water than traditional lawns and gardens, resulting in savings for the homeowner in addition to encouraging wildlife. Other xeric and habitat public gardens are listed.

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit and learn more about wildlife gardening. Volunteers from Fort Collins Audubon Society, local garden groups, Master Naturalists, and garden owners will be available to answer visitor questions about the gardens. All proceeds will benefit the Fort Collins Audubon Society.

The Gardens:

Ruth and Don Inglis-Widrick Garden
401 Wood St. (NW corner of Wood and Cherry Sts.)
Please park along the streets.  Wood St will accommodate more vehicles. Caution: Bees and other pollinators are present in the garden, including a beehive.  If you are allergic to stings, you may want to observe from the outer sidewalk only.

Patrick Quadrel Garden
2837 Dixon Creek Lane (off west Drake)
Parking is available along streets in the subdivision. Please do not park in front of the garden. Be aware that this day is the the annual neighborhood garage sale, so there may be many cars in the area.  Plan to view the garden in the afternoon to avoid the biggest crowds.

City Park Bird Garden - Roger Daigle, Grounds Manager
Sheldon Street, north off Mulberry
Access from the parking lot off Mulberry on Sheldon Street.  The garden is between you and the lake. Parking is available anywhere in City Park, closest along Sheldon Street, which can only be entered from Mulberry.  Restrooms are available in the park, north of the bird garden in the playground and picnic area.

Janet & Larry McCulloch Garden
520 N. Sherwood Street, Unit 16 (at west end of River Rock Commons Co-housing)
Please park in Lee Martinez Farm's parking lot (left at north end of Sherwood St) or in the Martinez Park lot, downhill from RiverRock Commons (turn right at north end of Sherwood St).

Dan and Della Mcguire Garden
Elm Ridge Ranch - 1727 Ridgecrest, north of Jax off Spaulding.
Turn right coming off Spaulding Lane; park along Ridgecrest