The H.O.P.E. Garden Project
Located at the Central High Cultural & Education Complex - Goochland, Virginia
The H.O.P.E. Garden
In late 2021, our organization introduced an initiative called “HOPE from the Garden” (HOPE stands for Helping Our Planet Endure). Its purpose is to encourage gardeners to adopt practices that help keep our land healthy and support the life that depends on it, keep our waters clean and plentiful, and keep our air clean and unpolluted.
Our Initiative to Help the Planet
Build and maintain a healthy soil
Provide healthy wildlife habitats
Minimize Pesticides
Conserve Water
Reduce Lawn Areas
Manage stormwater runoff
Incorporate native plants & eliminate invasive plants from the landscape
Adopt gardening practices that contribute to clean air
Upcoming Soils Workshop
Jan - Mar 2025
Act III - "Life in the Soil"
Watch for more information to be posted on the Events page.
H.O.P.E. Documents to Print
Goals & Objectives - Download PDF
​​Home Gardener Checklist - Download PDF
Guidelines (Call to Action) - Download PDF
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The H.O.P.E. Learning
and Teaching Teams
(The links below direct you to expanded resources concerning these topics)
Our H.O.P.E. Garden Project
In the Beginning ...
“Is it even possible to have an attractive landscape that adopts these practices?”
We believe the answer is YES.
In late Fall 2022, a team of GPMGA volunteers began installation of a “H.O.P.E. Garden”
in a large, sunny, lawn area in front of the building housing the
Goochland County Extension Office.
The main practices illustrated were:
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Conversion of a lawn area into an ecologically beneficial garden using no-till gardening techniques.
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Design of an attractive garden of native plants that provides value to wildlife and is pleasing to the eye.
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Maintaining a garden without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and gasoline-powered equipment.
We began by using a no-till, “lasagna garden” approach to start building a healthy soil. Twelve inches of chopped fall leaves and grass clippings were layered over sheets of cardboard, wet down, covered with a couple of inches of a compost-rich mulch, and left to break down over the winter months.
Fall 2022, Garden Installation
The garden was allowed to “cook” for approximately one year during which time the leaves decomposed into a nice, crumbly growing medium. The garden was planted in the fall of 2023 with plants that are native to our region, are attractive in the home landscape, are deer resistant, and support the invertebrates, birds, and mammals that are so important to our local ecosystems. The design included trees, shrubs, and perennials selected to provide garden interest throughout the year.
The garden is laid out with pathways for up-close viewing of the plants. Educational signage describing the plants and their benefits to our native ecosystem are planned, as are educational events and activities for homeowners. You are welcome to visit the garden any time. Master Graden volunteers work in the garden the first Wednesday morning of each month throughout the growing season and are happy to welcome you to the garden and to answer questions.
The HOPE Garden Plants
Trees
Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium)
Dogwood (Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess')
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum)
Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Shrubs
Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
Winterberry (male) (Ilex verticillata ‘Southern Gentleman’)
Winterberry (female) (Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red')
Little Henry® Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica 'Sprich')
Spice Bush (Lindera benzoin)
Blueberry (Vaccinium 'Duke')
Little Henry® Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Perennials
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Blue Wood Aster (Aster dumosus 'Wood's Purple' )
Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)
​Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium dubium 'Little Joe')
Narrow-leaf Sundrops (Oenothera fruticosa )
Hoary Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)
Clustered Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata aka Aster divaricatus)
Narrow-leaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium 'Cat Springs’)
Black-eyed Susan aka Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Sweet Goldenrod (Solidago odora)
Rough Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks')
Aster 'Wood's Purple' (Symphyotrichum dumosum 'Wood's Purple')
Black-eyed Susan
(Rudbeckia fulgida)
Visit the HOPE GARDEN
The garden is in front of the Central High School Cultural and Educational Center at 2748 Dogtown Rd, Goochland, VA 23063