Gamble Garden begins planning for new horticultural project – Verde Magazine

A newly approved lease extension is allowing Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden to move forward with an $8 million renovation aimed at transforming how students learn about horticulture.

The 2028 Horticultural Complex Project, Gamble Garden’s first major expansion in decades, will include updated greenhouse, nursery and staff spaces, along with a new multi-purpose room for horticulture classes.

Gamble Garden Executive Director Mica Pirie said the project will involve the tearing down of the garden’s current horticultural support facilities, which include the original greenhouse, lath house and offices, replacing them with a new building.

The complex will consist of a classroom for horticultural education, new working spaces and storage for Gamble Garden’s staff, creating more hands-on learning and community engagement opportunities.

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“Our elementary school field trip program, Roots and Shoots, will be able to host more classes,” Pirie said. “Next would be an internship program, so college students or graduates in horticultural-related fields would have a place to work here and have hands-on experience in the garden. And we’re putting a lot of work into expanding our class offerings to host them more often and with more variety.”

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We’re putting a lot of work into expanding our class offerings to host them more often and with more variety.”

— Mica Pirie, Gamble Garden executive director

The new dedicated education area and additional space also supports Gamble Garden’s efforts to better serve young adults and new families in the community.

According to Pirie, the project has been in the works since before 2021, when it was formally approved by the board of directors. The team aimed to address ongoing challenges, which included technical issues in the greenhouse and office spaces.

Despite having planned a renovation for many years, Gamble Garden was unable to take action until the City of Palo Alto approved a 50-year lease extension in November, giving donors confidence in the garden’s long-term stability.

“We want to know that we’re going to be here for 50 years, and it’s pretty important to some of our longtime supporters to have that sense of security before supporting such a massive project,” Pirie said.

To fund the project, Gamble Garden is accepting external donations with naming opportunities and has launched its first fundraising capital campaign since the garden’s founding in 1985. Currently at 40% of its $8 million goal, the Horticultural Complex Project aims to expand Gamble Garden’s reach and establish the space as the horticultural hub of Palo Alto.

“At any level, we are volunteer-powered, and there’s a way to come and engage that creates a sense of community in and of itself,” Pirie said. “If you just look at where we are in the middle of Old Palo Alto, there’s nothing else really like this.”