TORC - Texas Discovery Gardens
DALLAS, TX – The plants blooming at Texas Discovery Gardens vividly demonstrate that organic gardening techniques produce beautiful results.
The Texas Organic Research Center (TORC) this week designated Texas Discovery Gardens as the first certified organic public garden in Texas.
“Texas Discovery Gardens is an excellent example of the benefits of organic gardening,” said Howard Garrett, founder and president of TORC. “It is a big deal to be the first official organic public garden and hopefully it will lead to many others including entire city park departments going organic.”
“We are very honored and proud to receive the certification from TORC,” said Roslyn Dawson Thompson, chair of the Texas Discovery Gardens board of directors. “It is an important recognition of our mission to restore, conserve and preserve nature in the urban environment.”
Instead of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, natural soil amendments are used on the native and adapted plants at Texas Discovery Gardens.
“A healthy, well-maintained organic garden produces plants that are able to thrive and withstand adverse conditions,” said Tina Dombrowski, director of horticulture at Texas Discovery Gardens. “Selecting native and adapted plants and using organic gardening methods can have a positive impact on gardens and green space in urban and suburban areas.”
Ms. Thompson added, “When it comes to environmental issues, the most positive impact can be made by starting in our own backyards – literally. By using organic methods in gardens and landscaping, urban residents can add beauty, conserve priceless resources and provide vital habitat for butterflies and other native Texas wildlife.”
For more inf Call 214-428-7476 or visit the website at http://www.texasdiscoverygardens.org/
About Texas Discovery Gardens
Texas Discovery Gardens is a year-round urban oasis nestled among the historic Art Deco buildings at Fair Park. A beautiful, refreshing destination for local residents and out-of-town visitors, the gardens showcase beautiful native and adapted plants grown using sustainable, organic gardening techniques.
Texas Discovery Gardens' mission is to have a positive impact on the future of Texas by teaching people effective ways to restore, conserve and preserve nature in the urban environment through the use of native and adapted plants that illustrate the interrelationship of butterflies, bugs and botany. The organization's educational programs for schoolchildren reach more than 25,000 students annually. The adult education outreach programs serve an equal number of adults in the greater Dallas area. Texas Discovery Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is funded in part by the Dallas Park and Recreation Department.
About Texas Organic Research Center
TORC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research institute focused on demonstrating the effectiveness of organic approaches in gardening, landscape management and agribusiness. By bringing together existing research, facilitating and conducting new research and spreading the word through public information, TORC is responding to the demand for conclusive evidence that:
- Organic programs work better than chemical approaches.
- Organic solutions are less costly than chemicals.
- Organic programs are safer and create a more healthful and sustaining environment.