MATSON, MOWDER, HOWE CELEBRATION GARDEN 

This garden originated in the early 1980s when the Carter House Science Museum was located here. During that time, Gary Matson, horticulturist and co-creator of the science museum, began planting California native plants at the west end of the building. The Fremontodendron, Sambucus, Dendromecon, and Aesculus that you see are all from those original plantings. There is also the blanket of Dicentra that dances with flowers from March to June, and the stand of Matilija poppies that bloom prolifically in June and July. In the late 1990s the museum was absorbed into the Turtle Bay Exploration Park and the Carter House building was abandoned. Neglected and overrun with weeds, many of the original plantings were choked out. In 2004 the North Valley Art League leased the Carter House building as their art studio and gallery. At this same time, a community group began looking for a location for a memorial garden for Gary Matson, Winfield Mowder, and Marcia Howe. Both Gary and Winfield were avid native plant enthusiasts and avid members of the California Native Plant Society. With synergy and collaboration, NVAL and this community group resurrected and expanded the original garden.                                                               Michelle Driggs, Garden Chair