Since 2023, families rebuilding after the Marshall Fire have had the opportunity to add color and life to their yards with free, waterwise gardens from Resource Central’s Garden In A Box program.

When the Marshall Fire spread through parts of Boulder County more than four years ago, it decimated over a thousand homes, upending lives and destroying carefully cultivated landscapes and pollinator-friendly ecosystems.

Finding renewal and resilience after the Marshall Fire

This 2024 interview with Wanda shows how Garden In A Box has helped their community and how Garden In A Box is helping to restore the landscape.

Thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Boulder County, hundreds of families have restored their landscapes with vibrant waterwise Garden In A Box perennial plants. Using the easy plant by number designs that come with these Colorado-inspired garden kits, anyone can plant a garden that saves water, adds beauty, and supports native pollinators.

Planting resilient landscapes and conserving water

As Colorado continues to grapple with drought, residents are seeking ways to reduce their water usage. Transitioning to a low-water landscape is a key conservation strategy, and one that Marshall Fire survivors have embraced wholeheartedly as they rebuild with resilient, waterwise gardens.

By the end of the late summer 2025 season, Garden In A Box is poised to have distributed over 2,000 gardens to Marshall Fire survivors in Boulder, Louisville, Superior, and Lafayette communities. That’s over 200,00 square feet of waterwise, perennial gardens and millions of gallons of water saved. Not to mention the countless colorful blooms that attract native pollinators and bring joy to our neighbors.