I headed west to meet with some first-time participants on the Western Slope and join the Grand Junction pickup event.
For those of you familiar with Resource Central’s history, you might know that Garden In A Box has, by and large, kept to Front Range communities. However, in 2025, Water Plan Grant funding from the Colorado Water Conservation Board allowed us to bring more Western Slope communities into the fold for the first time. That funding, coupled with a hub approach to pickup events, helped us reach folks across the state, from Rifle and Eagle County to Steamboat Springs and Cortez.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of heading to Grand Junction to help out at our second-ever Garden In A Box pickup event in the Grand Valley region (the first one being the spring pickup earlier this year) and see for myself how things were going.
The day before the event, I met with two first-time participants from the spring season to learn what drew them to the program and to see their new gardens. Both are Ute Water Conservancy District water customers and were thrilled to see Garden In A Box (and $25 discounts) become available in their community this year.
Kim was mostly drawn to the plants themselves, with the variety of beautiful options and designs available. And, as a newer resident in the Grand Valley region, she was especially happy with how simple the Plant-by-Number maps made it to plant a perennial garden.
I also met Mykan later that day. For her, Garden In A Box proved to be a great tool to supplement her existing low-water gardens around the yard. She has planted many of our plant varieties before, so the kits meshed nicely with what she was already growing. Mykan also shared the increasingly common belief among Colorado’s residents that lush grass lawns just aren’t suited to Colorado’s climate, especially as water becomes more scarce. Garden In A Box stood out as a simple way for her to do her part in reducing water use.
Both Kim and Maykan intend to return to the program. In fact, I saw Kim the next day at the late summer pickup event! I couldn’t be more thankful that both of them took the time to meet me and give Garden In A Box a chance, and I can’t wait to see how their gardens grow over time.
Now on to the pickup event itself! Garden In A Box pickup events tend to be a fun time for everyone involved — yes, even for the event staff and volunteers — and this one was no exception. I got to spend time with our wonderful event crew, including Grand Junction’s own Susan Carter (designer of 2025’s Dappled Daydream kit), and send off so many smiling participants with their new gardens. We also got to meet a few friendly folks who swung by just to see what the event was. All of it is an incredibly simple process: drive up, check in, let our team load your car, and head home! In just a few hours, 47 people were well on their way to planting a low-water landscape, and my trip came to a close.
As always, thanks for tuning in to the Waterwise Community Field Blog series! I’ll be back with more of my standard participant snapshots in the coming months, but if you’re looking for even more stories in the meantime, you can check out other blog posts from my colleagues with the Waterwise Communities category tag.
‘Til next time.
-Garrett
At Resource Central, we believe that we can build a resilient and waterwise Colorado together through local action on a massive scale.
The individuals featured in this blog series are only snapshots of the work that’s being done by so many Coloradans to work toward that goal. So, whether you’re just starting to improve your water efficiency, are a seasoned low-water gardener, or are reading this blog and learning about waterwise gardening for the first time, thank you for joining us in creating a more waterwise future.
