WHEATON, MD – Friends of Brookside Gardens recently donated $50,000 to Brookside Gardens, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s awardwinning 50-acre horticultural display gardens. To kick off the Brookside Gardens Master Plan implementation, the Friends have earmarked the donation for design and construction specifications for a major improvement at the main gate entrance, including a new gate house and expanded landscaping.
A volunteer organization of more than 800 members, the Friends of Brookside Gardens raised the substantial sum through a variety of fundraising events during the past ten years, including membership, plant sales and donations.
“We’re grateful and humbled by the generosity of the Friends of Brookside Gardens,” said M-NCPPC Chairman Derick P. Berlage. “They’ve worked hard for many years to support Brookside with their time, talents and in many cases their considerable horticultural expertise. Their loyalty and dedication is a wonderful validation of the educational mission of Brookside Gardens.”
Located within the 500-acre Wheaton Regional Park, Brookside Gardens features two indoor conservatories, the visitors’ center funded in large part through a bequest from Elizabeth Turner, the azalea and rose gardens, a children’s garden and fragrance garden, wedding gazebo, Japanese teahouse, the county’s first Heart Smart Trail, the aquatic garden and the Gude Garden with a graceful pond next to Reflection Terrace, the memorial to the sniper victims. Brookside Gardens is free to the public and open for visitors sunrise to sunset, all year except December 25.
Garden of Lights: The Ultimate Magical Visual Experience
Many of the Friends of Brookside Gardens volunteer during the annual “Garden of Lights,” opening Saturday, November 19, 5:30-9 p.m. It is the area’s only non-sectarian outdoor lighted winter walk. For admission fee, dates and other details, visitors can log on www.brooksidegardens.org.