The Gardens on Spring Creek, 2145 Centre Avenue, is ready to emerge from its two-year metamorphosis to celebrate its Grand Opening on Saturday, November 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dignitary remarks and a ribbon cutting ceremony will mark the occasion at 9 a.m.
The $6 million dollar transformation has included changes to the community botanic garden’s indoor and outdoor spaces along with the construction of a permanent Butterfly House, the first of its kind in northern Colorado. Funding for the project consisted of public and private sources, which included voters approving a portion ($2 million) of Building on Basics 2.0 tax dollars for the Visitor Center’s completion.
Five acres of new gardens complete twelve acres of botanical display at the Gardens on Spring Creek. New gardens include a Prairie, Foothills, Undaunted, Great Lawn, Theme (Plant Select, Rose, Moon, Fragrance, and Butterfly & Hummingbird), and Wetland gardens. Highlights include the largest collection of cold hardy cactus on display in the United States, the convergence of two eco-systems (Prairie and Foothills) to expose the beauty and function of native plants, and the gathering expanse of the Great Lawn and Everitt Pavilion, which will feature performing arts, events, rentals, and other gatherings. The project team of the garden expansion is Russell + Mills Studios, Krische Construction, and City of Fort Collins. Groundbreaking of the gardens’ expansion was November 2017 with completion in September 2018.
New additions to the Visitor’s Center have doubled its square footage to 9,740 square feet to serve an anticipated 125,000 annual visitors. The heart of its construction is the 1,500 square foot Butterfly House, built in partnership with Butterfly Pavilion, the first stand-alone, Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited non-profit invertebrate zoo. Residents can expect to experience the Butterfly House as a year-round home to hundreds of North American butterflies and dozens of varieties of flowering plants. This warm and sensory experience allows all ages to get “up close” to both butterflies and plants in a tropical environment. Other attractions in the house include a chrysalis window, a 220 square foot living wall, and meandering pathways. The project team of the Visitor’s Center expansion is Architecture West, Elder Construction, and City of Fort Collins. Construction began in January 2019 with completion this November.
In anticipation of re-opening, new admission, membership, scholarship, and accessibility programs have been planned in addition to expanded programming, classes, events, and tours. Gardens on Spring Creek is a City of Fort Collins cultural facility. For more information on the Gardens on Spring Creek’s grand opening, please visit http://www.fcgov.com/gardens.
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About Gardens on Spring Creek
The Gardens on Spring Creek is the community botanic garden of Fort Collins, Colorado. The 18-acre site opened in 2004 as part of a vital public/private partnership between the City of Fort Collins and the Friends of the Gardens on Spring Creek. Our mission is to enrich the lives of people and foster environmental stewardship through horticulture. For more info, please visit www.fcgov.com/gardens.