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The Gardens

Guadalupe Gardens is located south of the Mineta San Jose International Airport (and adjacent to the river park) where homes were removed because of noise 20 years ago. The master plan for this area was developed by the City of San Jose and a Citizen's Task Force. The empty land that makes up much of this area will one day be transformed into all sorts of gardens for the public to enjoy.

The areas of the Gardens completed at this time are the Heritage Rose Garden, Historic Orchard, Courtyard Garden, and the Taylor Street Rock Garden.

Courtyard Garden and Taylor Street Rock Garden

The Courtyard Garden and the Taylor Street Rock Garden were the first elements of Guadalupe Gardens to be completed. Flowering plants, turf grass, and shrubs are featured in the Courtyard Garden. The Rock Garden has the latest in drought tolerant landscaping.

In 1999, after the irrigation system was converted to recycled water, the Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, South Bay Water Recycling and the City of San Jose rejuvenated the plantings in the Courtyard Garden and turned it into a demonstration site. The purpose of the demonstration garden is to show landscape professionals and the general public how a variety of plants react to recycled water in a landscape setting.

This project is an example of how the Friends' mission to provide education and stewardship of our natural resources is being incorporated into the master plan for Guadalupe Gardens. The Courtyard Demonstration Garden has served as a catalyst for the development of programs to build community awareness of the availability and acceptable uses of recycled water. It is an easily accessible site for the public to visit and complements the other established areas of the Garden.

The Visitor & Education Center

Located at 438 Coleman, this is our new home! Someday we'll have interesting and educational displays available, but in the mean time, stop by for our quarterly newsletter, information about composting, or just to say hello.

Most of our educational programs are held here, or at least meet here. The general office hours are Monday-Friday (excluding Holidays)
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Give us a call at 408-298-7657.

Heritage Rose Garden

The Heritage Rose Garden is a unique collection of 3,700 antique and modern roses. Established in 1995 through an extensive community effort, the garden contains more varieties than any other rose garden in the western hemisphere.

It is maintained primarily by volunteers, with assistance from the City of San Jose. The garden is open daily from dawn to dusk and there is no admission charge. A catalog of roses in the garden is available for purchase call 408-298-7657 for more information. Docent-led tours for pre-scheduled groups can be arranged for $5 per person.

An Adopt-a-Rose program allows for individuals to adopt a rose for $50 a year.

For more information on the Heritage Rose Garden visit the South Bay Heritage Rose Group-sponsored web site of the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden

Click here to see a map of the Garden

Isn't the San Jose Rose Garden near the Rosicrucian Museum?
There are two major public rose gardens in San Jose, The Municipal Rose Garden at Naglee and Dana, dedicated in the mid-1930s, and the Heritage Rose Garden at Spring and Taylor Streets, dedicated in 1995. The Municipal Garden has large beds of about 190 varieties of mostly modern roses. The Heritage Rose Garden is a botanical collection of over 3,500 varieties of the roses grown over the last 400 years.

Click on the image below to see a larger version.

Historic Orchard

The Historic Orchard is a 3.3-acre site planted in 1994 to showcase the varieties of fruit trees that once made the Santa Clara Valley famous as "The Valley of Heart's Delight". It is located in Guadalupe Gardens just south of Taylor Street and adjacent to the River Park trails. The orchard contains over 250 fruit trees, including cherries, apricots, prunes, apples, and more. It is maintained by dedicated volunteers.

The Historic Orchard is a living example of an earlier lifestyle and the economy that once drove the Santa Clara Valley. In the 1930s and '40s almost everyone who lived here was engaged in the business of fruit production: growing, picking, packing, canning, selling, or otherwise supporting the industry. Today, with very few orchards remaining, this is a place where adults and children can come to experience a piece of local history.

Fruit harvested from the Historic Orchard is donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Click here to view a map of the Orchard!

Cactus Garden
The Cactus Garden is sponsored by the Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose (CSSSJ) in the hope that you will visit and enjoy our effort on your next outing to the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. We are a diverse group of people who share our interest in these fascinating and unique plants the first Sunday of every month at Emma Prusch Memorial Park, 647 South King Road (off I-680), San Jose, California. We hold our Annual Spring Show and Sale in April and a Fall Show and Sale in October. For more information call (408) 295-1634 or visit out website at http://www.csssj.org

Click here to see a slide show!

Compost Demo Site

Thanks to the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Guadalupe Gardens is the now the home of a brand new Compost Demonstration Site. Located just West of the Historic Orchard, this series of compost bins and educational signage offers visitors the chance to witness first-hand the many ways in which compost can be made.

From passive "cold" composting, to active "hot" composting, to vermi-composting (composting with worms), this site has something for everyone, or at least anyone interested in composting. Part of having an effective demo site is making sure that the systems are always operating which takes a lot of work. We are looking for volunteers to help us operate these composting systems. If you are interested, call 408-298-7657 or send e-mail to education@grpg.org