Starting with a blank slate in the spring of 2022, our volunteers have been hard at work turning an area in the southwest corner of the Botanic Gardens into the new Historic Homestead Garden. As part of the MBG’s master plan, this new area will illustrate the horticultural landscape of the early settlers in the Uncompahgre Valley. 

• The garden is connected to the Valley’s network of irrigation ditches that are fed through the historic Gunnison Tunnel project since the early 1900’s.

• The remains of an historic cabin from the Kallstrom homestead – originally located in what is now Montrose’s Cerise Park -- have been re-assembled it on a prepared pad in the Garden. (Read more about the Kallstrom homestead HERE.)

• An heirloom Montrose Apricot is among the fruit trees planted in our "orchard."

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While much more remains to be done to fulfill our vision of an educational resource for our community, the Montrose Botanical Society and the Valley Food Partnership have signed a cooperative agreement for 2024. The agreement allows VFP to use the row-crop area in the Homestead Garden to support its Cultivating Farmers and Ranchers that Thrive (CFRT) program. In turn, the agreement benefits our Homestead Garden with eager caretakers.