About the Garden
In partnership with the library, the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV) maintain the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden. The purpose of the garden is to provide resources—including educational videos—for Arlington residents to learn how to create gardens in both the suburban and urban landscape. The gardeners invite others to join through their Facebook group or by contacting Glencarlyn Library, and also operate a Seed Library to encourage the sharing of seeds from one garden to another.
Focused on supporting wildlife, the garden has earned recognition as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and certification as an official Monarch Waystation by MonarchWatch.org.
Hands-On Learning
The demonstration garden provides numerous opportunities for teaching and learning. The coordinators regularly host workdays for Extension Master Gardeners (EMGs), demonstrate hands-on propagation techniques for training classes and mentor interns.
They welcome visitors to learn from the careful plant identification signage, materials offered in the patio’s education box, periodic garden tours and their Spring Celebration and Plant Sale in May.
A Brief History
The Glencarlyn Library Community Garden began as a Boy Scout Eagle project in the early 1990s. By 1999, the garden had fallen into disarray when two longtime Glencarlyn residents who trained as Extension Master Gardeners rejuvenated the garden. It was recognized as a Virginia Cooperative Extension demonstration garden in 2004 and approved by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV) Board in 2005. Today, the community garden has become a teaching garden and gathering space for the community.
