McKinney Green Gardens ready for its grand opening on May 30

Local dignitaries on hand to unveil educational water conservation garden

Created at 6:35 p.m. on May 22, 2009

The city of McKinney and the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Urban Solutions Center at Dallas have worked together for the last year to the grand opening of the McKinney Green Gardens, which will occur on May 30.

A ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. on Sat., May 30, located at Gabe Nesbitt Park , 7001 W. Eldorado Parkway.

“The McKinney Green Gardens serves as a landscape water conservation demonstration for the entire community. It will help educate homeowners, developers and landscapers about water conservation practices by illustrating how a water conservation landscape can be beautiful and water-saving at the same time,” said McKinney Mayor Bill Whitfield. “The park will be an outdoor oasis and a place to learn.”

Whitfield will serve as master of ceremonies at the grand opening ceremony to officially open the park to the public. McKinney Mayor Bill Whitfield, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Congressman Sam Johnson, Congressman Ralph Hall, and others will attend the evet. Vendors will be on hand to answer questions and give information about the different plants, turfgrass and tools demonstrated there to drastically cut water use.

The 1-acre McKinney Green Gardens incorporates six themed landscape areas: cottage, butterfly, wildlife, rock, serenity/moon and native plants. Nine different turf grasses will separate each landscaped area, which will be connected by meandering paths, all leading to a central gathering place.

In addition to being a grand opening event, experts and specialist from the Urban Solutions Center will be on hand to answer questions about turf grass maintenance and care, drought-tolerant plants, beneficial insects, controlling landscape insects and more.

Representatives for the Collin County Master Gardeners’ Association will give tours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. of the garden and answer questions about plants. The event will feature booths from local vendors and supporters of the McKinney Green Garden with information on landscape design and maintenance, irrigation technologies, compost and other topics.    

“The grounds were designed to demonstrate that landscape, through proper plant selection, can be beautiful and conserve water at the same time,” said Clint Wolfe, project coordinator with the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Urban Solutions Center. “By using native plants and grasses or those well adapted to the North Texas environment, the gardens will help educate children, homeowners, developers and landscapers about water-conservation practices.”

Topics of education in the one-acre McKinney Green Gardens include planning and design, soil analysis and preparation, plant selection, practical turf areas, efficient irrigation, mulching and landscape best management practices.

For more information on the garden, including a map and plant descriptions, visit http://mckinneygreengardens.tamu.edu.

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