A Gem for Our Community
Welcome to Silva Creek Botanical Garden (SCBG) on Virginia and State Streets. The Town of Silver City owns this public garden, managed by the Gila Native Plant Society (GNPS) and maintained by an enthusiastic crew of volunteers.
What is now Silva Creek Botanical Garden was once a town storage lot. Gila Native Plant Society volunteer Charles Holmes began work on the garden in 2006. In 2007, Elroy Limmer got involved, and gradually other volunteers followed. By 2014, significant changes were underway. Volunteers brought in soil for beds, created pathways, and planted mounded areas. Grants funded amphitheater seating and a kiosk. A Children’s Butterfly Garden was created to honor three young people who died in a plane crash. Other improvements followed: a medicinal garden, a butterfly roof for the amphitheater, artwork panels, and a Tree of Life sculpture. Volunteers handled weeding, watering, pruning, raking, and other maintenance. Elroy Limmer oversaw most of this work.
In 2022 and 2023, the Gila. Native Plant Society worked with a landscape architect to create a Master Site Plan for the garden. The GNPS board approved the plan in March 2023. The Garden Committee began work on Phase One. They wrote a Trails Plus grant and secured private donations for a Habitat Thicket, a renovated Children’s Butterfly Garden, a new main entrance, a wall around the historic water tank, beautiful and educational tile murals on the tank, interpretive signage, and donor and volunteer recognition tiles. These improvements were completed and showcased at an opening event in October 2025
Garden volunteers are now working to complete Phase Two, which includes a Front Yard Garden, a Desert Garden, and a Chihuahuan Grasslands Exhibit.
Three educational themes run through the garden and are illustrated on our murals:
- The relationship between native plants and native wildlife
- The relationship between native plants and native people
- The relationship between native plants and climate
We have also launched new programs at the Silva Creek Botanical Garden. In 2026, we held our first Family Day in the Garden and a docent training class. We hope to offer regularly scheduled docent tours.
All of our progress is thanks to the creativity, dedication, and sweat equity of our volunteers. If you are interested in any aspect of volunteering, please contact our volunteer coordinator at vcgardens.gnps@gmail.com.
Photos on this page courtesy of Elroy Limmer.
