Community Projects

One of the newest community projects that the Door County Master Gardeners are working on is the renovation of several of the Birch Creek Music Performance Center’s garden areas. This project involves identifying and eliminating invasives and exotic plants that are not suitable for our climate, suggesting replacement plants and shrubs, and prioritizing the gardens to be rehabilitated. The focus is on adding low-maintenance native plants that will provide color throughout the performance season. The Master Gardeners are developing garden designs that minimize watering, attract pollinators, and support wildlife year-round. Partial funding for the project was obtained through a grant from the Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association. Check out Birch Creek Performance Center Garden Restoration at the more project info below.

The goal of the Boys & Girls Club Gardening Club is to have the children involved with the planning and care of their raised bed gardens. The children are asked what they want to grow and then they start preparing for a successful growing season. The Gardening Club meets with Master Gardeners to learn how to prepare the soil, seeding and planting techniques, as well as maintenance and problem solving while discovering the magic of watching food grow. The Master Gardeners support the Boys & Girls Club’s mission to learn about nutrition, healthy habits and to build a healthier, secure food community.

Children First Development Center sensory garden in Sturgeon Bay has six raised garden beds as well as additional planting space both in and out of the fenced play areas. Five of the raised garden beds are dedicated to each one of the five senses: sight (bright flowers), touch (various textured plants), smell (fragrant plants like lavender, lemon grass, etc.), sound (gourds and various grasses), and taste (vegetables like lettuce and carrots). The sixth raised bed has been used for potatoes, and sunflowers were planted along fence areas. Children assist in the planting, watering, and weeding of the garden beds, as well as spending time exploring the plants and their various senses. Partial funding for the project was obtained through a grant from the Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association.

The Bird and Butterfly Garden at Crossroads at Big Creek has a very visible location at the front entrance of the Collins Learning Center. The original garden was designed to mitigate water runoff issues and to improve the environment for birds, butterflies, and insect pollinators. Over the years, some of the plants had become overgrown. Additionally, Crossroads felt that it was falling short of its restoration goal of increasing the ecological value of the land, so it began a restoration project of this area in 2023. This work consists of identifying and planting ecoregional natives that support the greatest number of butterflies, moths, and native bees as well as removing weeds and plants that do not support beneficial insects.

Door County Master Gardener volunteers have helped to maintain the garden at the Pete and Jelaine Horton Center Skilled Nursing Facility at the Door County Medical Center since 2021. The initial project required extensive weeding, plant identification, replacement of plants that did not survive, and fresh mulch. Pots were also purchased for the outdoor patio area and planted with annuals. The work is very appreciated by both the Pete and Jelaine Horton Center Skilled Nursing Facility staff and residents. Some residents enjoy watching the Master Gardeners work from their windows and have verbalized many thank yous.

Emma’s Garden was created as a collaborative space by the Town of Baileys Harbor for interested Baileys Harbor residents to grow their own produce. The garden is named after Door County conservationist Emma Toft. Participants in the garden often collaborate and use resources of the Door County Seed Library. The garden area contains demonstration plots to allow visitors to learn about gardening best practices and showcase Danish crops that may have been included in a historic Toft family garden. Produce from the demonstration gardens and excess from the other resident garden plots may be donated to the Baileys Harbor Senior Nutrition Program operated by the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Door County. This project was partially funded by a grant from the Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association in 2022.

The Door County Seed Library is a collaborative community seed lending and garden education program that offers free open-pollinated vegetable, herb, flower, and native seeds that members can ‘borrow’ to plant and grow in their home gardens. The Seed Library’s goals are to help people become successful gardeners and seed savers, increase our sustainability and capacity to grow wholesome food, and foster a culture of sharing. Seeds are distributed through select Door County Library branches, numerous local nonprofit organizations, and at local events. The Door County Master Gardeners Association acts as the fiscal agent for the Seed Library, and the program is 100% funded by grants and donations. Partial funding for the project was obtained through a grant from the Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association.

The Door Shakespeare Office relocated to Sister Bay in 2021. The gardens on this property had been neglected for many years and so invasive grasses and other prolific perennials had taken over many areas. Door Shakespeare asked for help from the Door County Master Gardeners in 2022. Since then, several Master Gardeners have been working diligently to restore these beautiful gardens. The primary goal at this point is to identify existing plants, remove invasive species and prolific spreaders, and try to control them with tarps and mulch. The Master Gardeners have pruned, trimmed, and moved existing plants to enhance appeal from road and entrance.

The Heritage Garden at Heritage Village in Sturgeon Bay is a display garden designed in the style of a kitchen garden for German immigrants to Wisconsin from the 1890s to 1900s. It features straw covered paths surrounding eight small beds, an herb garden, and a flower bed. The straw is used as a barrier for weeds and to prevent tracking mud into the house. The flowers and vegetables chosen are typical of that time period and features root vegetables easily stored for the winter. Many of the flowers and herbs have medicinal and dye uses. Master Gardeners plan the garden and source the plants and seeds. They also maintain the garden by weeding and watering throughout the season and put it to bed in the fall. Harvest from the garden is donated to Feed and Clothe My People.

Peterson Park Prairie sits at the north end of the YMCA campus in Sturgeon Bay. It is a .75-acre planting of small and tallgrass prairies and related flowers that attract pollinators and butterflies. The prairie has 24 interpretive signs that are rotated seasonally. The signs include QR scan codes that provide additional information about the prairie. This educational prairie garden demonstrates the types of prairies that were once quite prevalent throughout the Midwest. Even though Door County never had any naturally-occurring prairies due to the very shallow nature of our soil, the prairie highlights the types of native plants that can be grown in Door County with a bit of preparation and the proper selection of plants.

The Ridges native plant demonstration garden was established in 2022 to highlights the ecological benefits of gardening with native plants, such as providing habitat and food for pollinators and other organisms, increasing natural biodiversity, and reducing the risk of invasive species introduction. The purpose of the demo garden is to provide a clear example and demonstration of how any individual could effectively create a native pollinator garden at their own home. Master Gardeners participated with the planning, design, and maintenance of this highly-visible garden. Partial funding for the project was obtained through a grant from the Wisconsin Master Gardeners Association. Grant funds helped to purchase native pollinator plants and educational signage describing plant characteristics and environmental benefits.

The goal of the Southern Door School District’s Schoolyard Garden is to foster and grow a natural curiosity of children and connect them with food through gardening in a simple yet fascinating experience. Students from all three Southern Door schools (elementary, junior high and high school) participate in the Schoolyard Garden in many different ways – from sowing seeds in the spring to and maintaining the crops to enjoying their harvest at the annual rainbow garden tastings event each fall. For the rainbow garden tastings event, every classroom receives a tray of produce harvested from the garden artfully arranged in the colors of a rainbow. Master Gardeners help with weeding and pruning, as well as integrated pest management and answering right place/right plant/right cultivar questions.

The Ray and Ruthie Stonecipher Astronomy Center is located near the Leif Everson Observatory and StarGarden at Crossroads at Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay. Door County Master Gardeners and other volunteers began planning the garden areas in 2014. Perennial beds were established surrounding the building itself and at the beginning of the walk from the parking lot to the Center. Grasses, shrubs, trees, and flowering perennials were planted. This area continues to be maintained by a group of volunteers, including Master Gardeners and members of the Door Peninsula Astronomical Society, who meet to prune in the spring, weed all summer and fall, and mulch as needed to keep the plantings looking great.

A Door County Master Gardener volunteer has been volunteering for the Sustainable Living class in the Sturgeon Bay greenhouse since it first opened in 2018. She teaches the students how to mix soil, plant seeds, transplant, water, and harvest the produce. The class grows cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce. The students then use the harvested produce to prepare meals in their classroom. The Master Gardener volunteer also makes sure that the plants are flourishing. That, of course, is an ongoing task! The students are learning a lot as well. By growing and preparing fresh food, the students learn to appreciate where their food comes from and understand what it takes to put fresh, quality food on the table.

Master Gardeners and Door County Seed Library volunteers have designed the plantings in the Sturgeon Bay Library planter for the past several years. This highly-visible location gets a lot of traffic from visitors to the Library, Government Center, and Farmers Market. Each year the theme is different—several years have included seed-to-seed demonstration projects. Master Gardener volunteers grew the plants from seeds from the Door County Seed Library. Educational materials were developed that explained the varieties that were being grown and the importance of saving seeds, as well as how to save the seeds, dry them, and properly store the seeds for long-term viability. Other designs have incorporated a rainbow color theme. Be sure to check it out the next time you stop at the Library!