Master Gardener volunteers of Orange County have developed demonstration gardens at the Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center, 1020 US Hwy 70 West, Hillsborough, NC. The gardens, which aim to help local residents learn how to deal with garden challenges, are named in honor of the late Bonnie Briley Davis.

The Bonnie B. Davis Environment and Agricultural Center, completed in 2021, houses offices for the Cooperative Extension; the Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation; Farm Services Agency; Soil and Water Conservation District; and the Orange County Forest Service. The Center was dedicated to the late Ms. Davis, a Family and Consumer Science agent who dedicated her career to Orange County residents. It is the first county building named after a Black woman, and the only Center named after a Family and Consumer Science agent or Home Demonstration agent.

The Davis Center had minimal landscaping when the building opened in 2021. Mart Bumgarner, Orange County horticulture agent, and Master Gardener volunteers saw opportunity in the nearly empty grounds for what was to become the Bonnie B. Davis Demonstration Gardens (BBD Gardens).

The goal of the BBD Gardens is to demonstrate good gardening practices for the varied interests of Orange County gardeners. The original five gardens were designed by the Master Gardener volunteer training class of 2022. Members of the class prepared the garden beds and have propagated plants, planted, and have sought funding for other plant materials and supplies. They have created raised beds, trellises and a composting site.

Examples of gardens that offer solutions to challenges facing Orange County gardeners:

• The Entrance Garden examines the challenges highlighting a physically low sign identifying the building complex with plants that can withstand the hot, dry, yet humid heat of North Carolina summers.

• The Slope Garden offers solutions to problems of high summer heat and rain runoff on steep slopes.

• The Container Garden showcases planters in a patio area with challenges of variable shade and sun, as well as the need to move planters to allow different uses of the space. Container gardening is good for those with limited outdoor space.

• The Natives Garden offers a display of plants native to our region in a largely shaded area.

• The Edibles Garden features a variety of edible plants with yields at various times of the year.

Because education is the primary purpose of the gardens, EMG volunteers anticipate planting additional garden spaces in response to educational needs.