For nearly half a century the Shades of Green nursery in Alamo Heights has offered a serene space for gardeners and plant enthusiasts.
Next year, the nearly 2-acre plant haven will transform from a business into a community garden open to and for all.
With the public’s help, owners Bob Webster and Roberta Churchin hope to raise $10 million to help turn the space into the Shades of Green Legacy Garden, a public garden with walking paths, garden areas, water features and more.
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“It’s been 45 years since we opened the doors as a much smaller operation and it’s certainly grown,” said owner Bob Webster. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to the retail portion of it but it’s very exciting to us to be leaving a legacy, so to speak.”
The nursery will be open for business until the end of 2025, but will then transition to a redesign phase, Webster said. If their monetary goal is reached, they hope the garden can be fully open to the public within two years.
Webster established Shades of Green alongside Roberta Churchin back in 1981. They purchased four adjacent properties over the years to expand the nursery and even recall picking and planting every cypress and oak tree that now towers over the green facade of their storefront.
Six years ago, after several offers to sell their property to area developers, the owners made the decision to start looking into creating a community garden. Three years later they applied for a conservation easement, a federal protection that allows the owners to restrict certain uses of their property, in this case from developers.
“When we started 45 years ago, (Sunset Road) was still a street of residences and mom and pop businesses… today it’s just become a concrete jungle of doctor’s offices and apartments,” Webster said. “We’ve been offered a lot of money for the property, but we said, ‘You know, some things are worth preserving.’”
They thought of the countless patrons who often say they go to the nursery to retreat from the hustle and bustle of daily life, or when they are having a bad day, Webster said. With this in mind they thought the best way to preserve the space was to make it even more accessible to all.
“A haven where people can come, get away from it all for a few minutes,” Webster said.
In order to preserve the nature sanctuary they worked so hard to build, Webster and Churchin created the Shades of Legacy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization in February 2023, to which they donated the land and the master plan for the public garden of their dreams.
The mission of the foundation is to create and maintain this public garden as a peaceful retreat for all that need it, to promote sustainable gardening practices, offer educational opportunities and host community initiatives.
Over the years, Webster and Churchin have traveled to visit other gardens and draw inspiration for this space. So far the master plan includes a serene walkway where visitors can enjoy display gardens, a labyrinth, a yoga lawn, meditation spaces and even a children’s vegetable garden.
Shades of Green owners Bob Webster and Roberta Churchin pose for a photo in their nursery garden alongside their dog Axl. Credit: Courtesy / Shades of Green
“Roberta and I are pretty much putting our life savings into this project,” Webster said. “But it is going to take more than that, so fundraising is going to be important.”
Fundraising for the garden started on Monday, and the plan is to keep the nursery in business through the end of the year, to sell their inventory and still serve those who count on Shades of Green for their Christmas needs, Webster said.
After that, the nursery would cease operations to begin site preparations and construction. Webster says they want to open to the public as early as possible.
As for Webster and Churchin — both 75 years of age — this is a retirement of sorts only from the business side. Their passion for nature and sustainable gardening efforts will still be at the forefront of their lives.
“So we’re retiring from the business end of it and embarking on a whole lot of other things related to what the business has been,” he said. “It’s a transition rather than a sudden change.”
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