Help Us Continue to Grow

What a year 2020 has proven to be. From bringing the Spring Plant Sale and education classes online, to reimagining community events like Urban Homestead Tour, Pumpkins on Parade and Garden of Lights, everyone involved in the organization has made extraordinary adjustments to provide our Members and guests with the world-class visitor experience you have come to know and love—whether in-person or online.

As The Gardens’ non-profit partner, 2020 has also been one of tremendous change for Friends of The Gardens. With your help, we made an initial investment of $25,000 to Gardens for All, developed our own website (friendsgosc.org), hosted more Member Mornings than ever before and created the very popular dinner and music experience called Date Night at The Gardens.

It has required a enormous amount of work and pivoting to meet COVID-19 guidelines. And despite our best efforts, the pandemic has left its mark on our organization, just like everyone else. Between revenue shortfalls and budget cuts, The Gardens is looking at a $150,000 deficit for the year.

We know this is a hard time to be asking for money, but if you are in a position to give this holiday season, we ask that you keep Friends of The Gardens in your end-of-year giving plans. Click here to learn more about your giving options.

Tax Benefits of Giving to The Friends
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act of 2020 created two new tax benefits that could prove beneficial for you and your family.

For taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions, the CARES Act created an above-the-line deduction of up to $300 for individuals and $600 for married couples filing jointly who donate to qualified charitable organizations by December 31, 2020. The deductible amount is applied to Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) without affecting the ability to take the standard deduction.

For those that itemize, the CARES Act allows deductions of up to 100% of AGI (normally 60%) for this year only. If you’re planning to include Friends of The Gardens in your year-end giving, consult a tax professional for further details on how this

While 2020 has been a difficult year, there is plenty to be excited about as we look ahead to 2021. Already we are planning more Date Nights, more concerts, new butterflies, yoga, tai chi, the Spring Plant Sale, exciting community events, a full year of education programming and the continued growth of our stunning gardens. Donor support makes this possible and we want to thank you in advance for helping us bring light and life to this community this holiday season.

Sincerely,
Mary Atchison,
Fundraising Chair Friends of The Gardens

OtterCares Foundation Grant Award

The Gardens on Spring Creek is honored to be a recipient of a recent OtterCares Foundation grant award totaling $19,523 in support of our established Project Hort and new Junior Hort Programs ! These two teen educational initiatives are an essential part of growing the future of horticulture and environmentalism in our community , and we thank OtterCares for providing foundational support to help this program expand! Started in 2022, Project Hort is a program for teens who are passionate about gardening, plants, animals, and the environment. Th is summer -long volunteer and stewardship program combine s service learning, community building, and horticulture education. In the first two year s of Project Hort , 35 dedicated student s volunteered over 5,000 hours , completing projects focused on building new gardens, facili t ating education around plants and mental health, assembling garden exploration backpacks, and organizing our Garden Animal Fest. For

What's Blooming: Harvesting Your Own Christmas Tree

Harvesting Your Own Christmas Tree By Jessica Clarke, Horticulturist It’s the holidays, and no matter what you celebrate this time of year, seeing the trees glowing around town brings warm cozy feelings during this dark season . To bring that feeling home , m any people have been going back to the traditional live tree and even going so far as cutting down their own tree. Fortunately for the adventurous type in Colorado , there is easy access if you want to harvest your own Christmas tree . With a permit through the local Forest Service , individuals are allowed to harvest a tree on Forest Service land . H ere a re a couple of factors you will want to consider: Even though most of us in Colorado live at or above 5,000 feet in elevation you will still have to go higher up in elevation to use your permit . This elevation in the wintertime will be cold and , h opefully , have a good snowpack. Be prepared for winter driving , the roads can be snow-packed, icy, and someti

Hornworms by Brionna McCumber

Gardeners in Colorado may find large green caterpillars with an iconic horn on their plants every summer—these are hornworms! Tobacco hornworms ( Manduca sexta ) feed on common garden crops, often leading to conflict with humans. These very hungry caterpillars are defoliators, damaging plants such as tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant. While the caterpillars use crops as a food source, which could be seen as negative, the moths provide a critical step in reproduction for the plants via pollination. Carolina Sphinx Moths ( Manduca sexta ), also called Hummingbird moths, are the adult form of hornworm s. They are known for their unique ability to hover mid-flight. Combined with the use of a special elongated proboscis, these moths are especially important for plant species with long tubular flowers that other pollinators cannot access or pollinate. The Gardens on Spring Creek Butterfly House wants to highlight the importance of these specialized pollinators in our native Colora

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