Nestled among towering pines and jeweled lakes, the beautiful Grand Mesa Visitor's Center at an elevation of 10,200 feet, offers educational services to guests and travelers such as; interpretation, printed materials, and other informational resources about the Grand Mesa.

To familiarize visitors with the mountain's dazzling variety of wildflowers, shrubs, and trees, the Forest Service is working in conjunction with the CSU Extension Master Gardener program, the Native Plant Society, Colorado University, and the Scenic Byways Committee to plan and implement a demonstration / dispay garden on site. There will also be hand-outs outlining plants used available within the center.

Jon Schler, of the University of Colorado and the Department of Local Affairs developed a student project to document plant life on the mesa. Armed with this information, he then diagrammed a schematic map of the proposed gardens, including a bog, meadow area and forest area. Local botanist Evelyn Horn and the Plateau Chapter of Colorado Native Plant Society are adding their expertise to the scheme.

An area adjacent to the upper parking lot has been set aside for this use. John Oien, Forest Service Landscaper, will handle hardscaping, while responsibility of planting and maintainance will fall mostly on the Master Gardener program volunteers. This is a long term project. The planning phase has already begun. Planting will be taking place in early summer of 2001 when the snow melts and soils warm sufficiently. Kim Ralston, director of the Grand Mesa Visitor's Center, will be recruiting other members of the community to help with labor during this project as well.

The Master Gardeners will be creating an extensive set of webpages to describe the plant material in the demonstration garden. These pages will include cultural information as well as photos of the plants.