Resource Central

Garden In A Box is a simple, professionally designed low-water perennial garden kit. These kits are intended to encourage replacing unused sections of lawn (grass is a high water plant) with low-water plants to reduce outdoor water usage!

All low-water perennial gardens include starter plants (not seeds) that come in 4-inch pots. Plants will be organized into 2 ft. x 1 ft. trays, and will be hardened-off and ready to plant when you pick them up!  We also offer a vegetable garden in the spring that comes in 2-inch pots in a 2 ft. x 1/2 ft. tray. *When necessary, Resource Central will select appropriate plant substitutions.

Additionally, gardens include up to three professionally designed plant by number maps that make it easy to install your perennial or vegetable garden. The comprehensive Plant and Care Guide and Garden Info Sheets include planting, watering, and seasonal maintenance suggestions to support you in caring for your new garden.

No, these gardens do not come in or with a planter box – they are intended to be planted directly in the ground. It’s just a catchy name for an easy, DIY kit!

No. It’s just a catchy name! Your Garden In A Box can easily be planted directly in the ground, a raised bed, or a garden “box,” but the kit does not include an actual box to plant the garden in.

Our gardens for spring planting go on sale in early March for pick up in May or June. Gardens for late summer planting go on sale in mid-June for pick up in August or September.

Resource Central partners with many water providers and municipalities across Colorado to provide access to our water conservation programs (and discounts for those programs). Partnering water providers/municipalities supply a limited number of $25 discounts that can be applied to select Garden In A Box kits. 

• All customers or residents of a participating water district/municipality are eligible to claim a $25 discount while discounts remain available.
• There are a limited number of discounts for each water provider/municipality.
• All water partner discounts are claimed during the checkout process.
• All water partner discounts are claimed on a first come, first served basis.
• Water partner discounts apply to select gardens only.*

Additionally, several partnering water providers/municipalities offer $100 discounts for income-qualified residents. Eligibility requirements apply and all income-qualified discount users will be verified.

Check the tool below to learn if your water provider/municipality offers a discount on Garden In A Box!

*Note: Nine Packs, Herb Pack, and Veggie Gardens are not eligible for the $25 discount. Further limitations based on water provider/municipality preference. Call or email for more information.

To claim a discount from your water provider/municipality, start by adding your desired gardens to your cart. Then proceed to checkout and select your water provider/municipality from the dropdown menu.

In most cases, if discounts still remain and the garden is eligible for a discount, the discount is automatically added to your order and visible in your cart on the right side of your screen. If all discounts for the water provider/municipality have been claimed, the message “Sorry, all discounts for this water provider have been claimed” will appear.

Some water providers/municipalities have the phrase “Coupon Code Required” next to their name in the water provider drop down field. In this case, you must enter the code provided by your water provider/municipality before the discount is applied to your order. After selecting your water provider, simply type the code provided to you in the “Coupon Code” box near the top of the page and click “Submit”. The discount will be shown in your cart on the right side of the screen during checkout.

A few water providers/municipalities offer a $100 income-qualified discount to residents participating in applicable bill assistance programs. Eligible residents will receive a special discount code from their water provider/municipality or the income-qualified program they access. To claim this discount, select your water provider from the dropdown, then enter the code provided to you in the “Coupon Code” box near the top of the page and click “Submit”. The discount will be shown in your cart on the right side of the screen during checkout.

No, we do not ship our gardens. All orders must be picked up at one of our distribution locations across the Front Range. Check this page for details on garden pickups. You will select your pick up date and time during the checkout process.

You have 8 days prior to your pickup date to cancel and receive a full refund without penalty. We cannot accommodate changes to your order less than 8 days before your pickup date.

If you request to cancel within 8 days of the pickup date, your order will be refunded but subject to a 15% restocking fee.

See the Replacement Plant policy below for plant health related issues.

Yes, but all changes must be made at least 8 days before your pickup date. We cannot accommodate changes to your order within 8 days of your pickup date. Call 303-999-3820 ext. 222 or email gardeninfo@resourcecentral.org for all order changes or inquiries.

We offer gardens for full sun, adaptable, and part-shade sun exposures. Full sun gardens require 6  or more hours of direct sunlight per day, especially between the hours of noon and 4pm. Part-shade gardens require 4 hours of direct or indirect sunlight per day or periods of full sun but only in the early morning or late evening. Adaptable gardens could handle full sun or part-shade exposure.

The short answer – when we use the term native, we are referring to regional natives (Mountain, North Central, South Central, and South West) and nativars. Take a look at an individual garden’s Plant List for the native status on individual plants in that garden.

Looking for more info? Read more about native gardening & our take on it here.

While some perennials are more resistant than others, no plant is truly guaranteed to be resistant to critters like deer and rabbits.

Designating plants as “resistant” to a particular animal can be difficult. In general, plants that are categorized as resistant are too aromatic, woody, leathery, or even too toxic to be considered a regular food source for these critters. Rabbits or deer will typically pass over a “resistant” variety when other, preferred food sources are available. But when food is scarce, a hungry critter will eat just about anything!

Any plant, resistant or not, is more vulnerable to grazing critters the smaller it is. Newly planted plants are typically more tender than their mature counterparts, and may not yet have developed the traits that usually protect them grazers. Therefore, it is especially important to protect any new plantings. 

The best way to protect plants from deer or rabbits is to physically limit their access to your garden. This can be accomplished by installing fencing, or even by using chicken wire as a temporary barrier while your plants mature. Some gardeners have success using homemade or store-bought deterrents,  but these often need to be frequently reapplied to be effective.

Find resistance information about each specific plants in our gardens by clicking “View Detailed Plant List” on the garden’s product page.

Please note, Garden In A Box does not guarantee any plant will be resistant to rabbits or deer.

Learn more from this article written by CSU Extension.

No. None of our plants have ever been treated with neonicotinoids.

All of our perennials come in 4″ pots at pickup and veggie starters come in 2″ pots. The mature spread of each plant will vary and is listed both in the plant list on the individual gardens’ webpage and in your garden’s printed Info Sheet which you’ll receive at pick up.

The plants may seem small at pick up compared to their mature spread but this is normal! Denver Botanic Gardens complied a document of Best Practices for planting in our western climate which recommends planting perennials in a quart size, which is another term for our 4″ pots. At planting and into their second year the plants are focused on growing their roots down for establishment and may not grow to their mature size but at the third year and beyond they’ll leap into a display of blooms.

Concerned about incorrect order:

Your garden should be labelled with its name. If you’re not seeing the name, you can use your garden info sheet and plant tags to ensure that you received the correct plants. Sometimes we need to make substitutions, and we send an email notifying you of this change.

It is easiest to correct an error at the pickup event itself. If you have confirmed that you received the incorrect order, and the pickup event is still ongoing, please head back to the event. If the event has ended, or if you are unable to return, please call or email us to let us know about the issue.

Concerned about plant health:

Garden In A Box is a living product and we make every effort to provide you with healthy, viable plants at the time of pickup. If you receive an unhealthy or non-viable plant, you must email us photos of the plant(s) in question within 48 hours of your pick up date and we will do our best to replace your plant. After 48 hours in your care, we are no longer responsible for the health of the plants. Email gardeninfo@resourcecentral.org.

We time our pickup events, in both spring and late summer, during the appropriate  planting season for perennials in Colorado. No matter the planting season, be sure to check the weather before planting as Colorado is known for its unpredictable weather!

In spring, you can plant your perennials as early as the first week in May. That said, the average last frost date along the Front Range is around May 15th. We advise waiting to plant your vegetable garden until after this date (following the instructions in your veggie garden Info Sheet!), and if you want to avoid the threat of frost for your new perennials, wait until mid May for these as well.

Late summer is also fabulous times to plant perennials! In the late summer, we strongly recommend planting at least a month before the first hard frost date, which is usually early October.

The ideal times of day to plant are in the early morning or in the evening. The cool temperatures and gentle sunlight reduce stress on new plants.

Garden In A Box is designed as a do-it-yourself program, and, unfortunately, we do not have the staff capacity to offer planting services. If you are unable to plant your garden for any reason, consider asking a friend, family member, neighbor, or landscaper for assistance! Senior centers often have resources available for tasks such as planting, we recommend checking out your local senior center.  To search for landscapers, try the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) website.

We do now offer Lawn Removal Service to help you remove lawn to prep for the gardens. Learn more here.

We cannot recommend specific landscape contractors. Instead, we encourage you to visit the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado website to find a qualified landscape professional in your area.

All gardens must be picked up at one of our pickup locations during the spring or late summer seasons. During the order checkout process, customers will select from available pickup locations, dates, and time slots.

Garden In A Box pickups are run as drive-through events. You will be directed to drive up to our blue check-in tents where we will ask for the first and last name on the order(s). No need to print out your order confirmation or provide your order number(s). Once checked in, your order(s) will be loaded into your car by our staff and volunteers. You don’t even need to get out of your car!

Check this page for more details on pickup events.

Probably, but this will depend on how many gardens you purchased! We encourage you to clean out your trunk in preparation for your garden pickup. Each garden will come in one or two 2 ft. x 1 ft. trays of plants, so please plan accordingly.

Gardens covering 60 sq. ft. come in one tray of plants and gardens covering 100 sq. ft. come in two trays of plants. If you order multiple gardens, use this math to figure out how many trays you’ll receive! The average-sized car can fit about 8-10 flats when empty. Note also that the gardens or flats do not stack.

Note: Gardens are starter plants and printed materials only; kits do not come with a “planter box”.

Absolutely! Just make sure they know the first and last name on the order and which gardens you ordered. Forwarding your order confirmation or pickup reminder is a great way to give them all the info they need in case there are any questions!

We ask that you (or someone you’ve delegated) pick up your order at the pickup event you requested. These gardens are a live product and, due to the volume of our business, we cannot guarantee care of the garden after the pickup event.

If an order is not picked up at the requested pickup event, you must pick up at our office in Boulder within 4 days of the missed pickup date.  If you cannot pick up your order within 4 business days you must let us know and make other arrangements. Orders that are not picked up within 7 days of the missed pickup date without prior communication about other arrangements will be donated without a refund.

We understand that sometimes things come up and you may not be able to pick up right away. We ask that you let us know if you need a different arrangement as soon as possible.