Over the past five years, a five-acre native garden has been slowly blossoming.
Paradise Hills Native Garden is tucked within Paradise Hills Community Park, along Paradise Valley Road and Potomac Street.
At the heart of the garden is a large empty field covered in wildflower seeds, soon to sprout. All around are California poppies, young cypress and oak trees, desert thorns, cactus, walking trails and seating areas.
But what many may not know is that the field was once a small landfill. In the 1960s, the landfill was capped with soil and clay to prevent greenhouse gas emissions. Those have not been detected in many years, according to the nonprofit Paradise Gardeners. But because of its former use, nothing was ever built and the land remained barren.
“It was a weed-infested field, and, being an advocate for my community, I said, 'We deserve better than this,'” said Nancy Janssen, a Paradise Hills resident and the garden’s project manager.
She and her husband Wes, who are retired, saw potential for a garden, filled with native plants and trees that require little water. Such a project, they said, would also put to good use a long-standing eyesore in the community, where residents could recreate and nature could thrive.
Landfills-to-community assets are rare, but many communities across the country are embracing them. New York’s Freshkills Park on Staten Island is among the newest projects, transforming what was formerly the world’s largest landfill into a major recreational green space, according to the city’s website.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has guidelines for revegetating landfills and waste containment areas. Although they were once thought to be of limited or no value, these former sites “are being reclaimed for a variety of productive uses,” the agency said, recommending use of native plants because they are drought-resistant and self-sustaining.
Knowing that, the Janssens pitched their idea to the city, which owns the land.
“We went to the city and said, you know, a pretty significant palette of plants has co-adapted in our climate to live in this climate without an irrigation system,” Wes Janssen said. “We could establish a demonstration garden and make it a nicer place for the community to recreate.”
The city liked their idea but couldn’t fund their vision at the time, he said. So, the Janssens and several other Paradise Hills residents built the garden themselves. Along the way, they received grant funding, a storage unit, and interpretive signage from several public and private donors.
“It was kind of an amazing thing, how everybody came together,” Nancy Janssen said of the volunteers who have helped build the garden. “We have a biologist that came aboard, a landscape designer, an engineer, and a graphic designer. Everything was in-house.”
It’s been five years since they began planting all sorts of native plants and trees. Now, the garden is ready for its grand opening.
“The whole idea of bringing our community outdoors into something that's just native, I mean, look at the butterflies,” said Nancy Janssen. “We don't see those in our concrete backyards.”
Nancy Janssen said she hopes the garden will continue to flourish even after she and her husband are gone.
“I’m hoping that we can get more leaders because Wes and I aren’t going to be here forever, or that the city will find some staffing to help it,” she said, adding that they are frequently looking for volunteers.
The grand opening is scheduled on April 18. Scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the event is set to include tours, music, crafts and face painting.
