The Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden is located in the valley below the Mayacamas Mountains in east Santa Rosa. A five-year License Agreement between the County of Sonoma and The Regents of the University of California was signed in February 2023. The Agreement created the opportunity for the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County to commit to renovating the County-owned Los Guilicos parcel into a Demonstration and Teaching Garden. Read the announcement and press release here.
Sonoma County Master Gardener volunteers will use the Los Guilicos parcel for propagation activities, educational workshops, and public plant sales. Phase One of the project, which began in spring 2023, entailed renovating the existing Valley of the Moon Children’s Home Garden, which was destroyed during the 2020 Glass Fire and then shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The renovated Children’s Garden debuted to the public in October 2023 during a family-friendly Jamboree event.
UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County awarded ‘unprecedented’ grant from Sonoma County Ag + Open Space in 2024!
In December of 2024, the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County received a $1.046 million Sonoma County Ag + Open Space grant to support our work at the Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden. This grant is ‘unprecedented’ in the entire history of the Master Gardener Program according to Missy Gable, the Statewide Director of the UC Master Gardener Program.
The Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden is a 4.5-acre parcel of land in east Santa Rosa near the Valley of the Moon Children’s Center that was damaged during the 2020 Glass Fire. Since the spring of 2023, UC Master Gardener volunteers have transformed the property into a native, waterwise, fire wise, and wildlife-friendly garden and learning space for adults and children.
Thank you to our volunteers who collaborated on the grant application and to First District Supervisor Susan Gorin, a longtime supporter of the UC Master Gardener Program and the Los Guilicos Demonstration Garden. We are also indebted to all the UC Master Gardener Volunteers who have worked to transform the Los Guilicos land into a botanical paradise ideal for learning, healing, and growing a sustainable future for Sonoma County.
For more information about the Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden, including history, future plans, and community support, click:
Directions to the Los Guilicos Garden
The Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden (and Children’s Garden) is located in east Santa Rosa near St. Francis Winery & Vineyards.
Google Maps and Waze
Use this address: 1 Los Guilicos Road, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Apple Maps and MapQuest
Use this address: Rancho Los Guilicos Road, Santa Rosa, Calif.
If coming from west of Santa Rosa:
- CA-12 E toward Sonoma/Napa.
- Left at N Pythian Road (three-way stoplight)
- Drive .2 miles
- Keep left at fork in road (Los Guilicos Road)
- Drive 450 yards
- Garden entrance gate is on left by wood sign: “Valley of the Moon Children’s Home Garden”
If coming from east of Santa Rosa:
- CA-12 W toward Santa Rosa
- Right at N Pythian Road (Three-way stoplight).
- Drive .2 miles
- Keep left at fork in road (Los Guilicos Road)
- Drive 450 yards
- Garden entrance gate is on left by wood sign: “Valley of the Moon Children’s Home Garden”
The Children’s Garden – Los Guilicos
The Children’s Garden, located in the Los Guilicos Demonstration and Teaching Garden in Santa Rosa, fills a need often not met in Sonoma County schools: An outdoor classroom experience that provides children the opportunity to learn about growing food, exploring habitats, and protecting the future of our environment. The Children’s Garden is ADA compliant and welcomes diversity in all forms — people, plants, animals, and habitats.
The Children’s Garden features 650 plants in four themed areas:
- The Four Sisters (Corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers)
- Pizza and Salsa
- Herbs and Edibles
- The Five Senses and The Four B’s (Birds, bees, butterflies, and bugs)
Key objectives:
- Provide vegetables from the garden to children at VMCC (Valley of the Moon Children’s Center).
- Educate Sonoma County children about sustainable gardening practices and environmental stewardship through our field trips.
School Field Trip at Los Guilicos Children's Garden
Teachers and school administrators: Our fall 2024 and spring 2025 school field trips are booked but you can sign up for our waitlist.
If you’d like to place your class (1st, 2nd 4th and 5th grades) on a waitlist for fall 2025 / spring 2026 or be notified if there’s a cancellation, please complete and submit this form. Field trips and bus transportation are free.
For information about our field trip program, click here.
For more information, including accomplishments and future plans for The Children’s Garden, click:
Events
Upcoming events
For information about scheduled events at The Demonstration and Teaching Garden and The Children’s Garden at Los Guilicos, follow the Events section on our homepage. Be sure to also follow us on social media (UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County).
Recent events
May 2024 – Master Gardeners held field trips for the children of friends and families on May 11 and with Kenwood Elementary School first graders on May 13.
Past events
To view past Sonoma County Master Gardener events held at Los Guilicos, click here.