As part of a new initiative, the Saint Louise Regional Hospital Foundation is partnering with the Master Gar-deners of Santa Clara County to provide South County residents with a garden on the north side of Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy.
“This garden project will be serving community needs,” said Foundation CEO Michele Averill. “Not only will the garden offer aesthetic scenery for our staff, patients and visitors, but it will also serve as an educational tool.”
The garden will be part of a healthy eating and diabetes prevention program created by Community Health Director Sister Rachela Silvestri.
The garden project, which began in early January 2010, will include a diversity of insecticide-free, drought-tolerant plants, herbs, vegetables and an orchard with a variety of fruit trees.
Vegetables grown in the garden will not only be used in the Saint Louise cafeteria, but will also be donated to St. Joseph Family Center to help the less fortunate. Local students will have the opportunity to visit the site for lessons in gardening

and healthy food choices.
“This is the first Master Gardeners project in the South Bay,” said Master Gardener project lead Bette Lloyd, who leads about 10-12 Master Gardeners weekly.
“We are excited to bring this to people in this area. We hope we can develop a demonstration garden that will provide home gardeners with tips for good sustainable garden practices,” Lloyd said.
Many local businesses have donated resources for the project, such as dirt, cardboard and wood chips. Local Boy Scouts have volunteered their time to help with the gardening efforts.
“This is definitely a collaborative community effort. We appreciate all the local donations we’ve received thus far and welcome more!” said Master Gardener Tina Geyer.
The garden completion date is tentative, but will take about 12-18 months.
The Master Gardeners are trained volunteers with the University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program.
To donate resources or for more information about the garden project, Saint Louise Regional Hospital Foundation or the Master Gardeners, contact Michele Averill at (408) 779-4510.