desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
located in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
. The gardens are currently located in the
Las Vegas Springs Preserve
Las Vegas Springs Preserve consists of dedicated to nature walks and displays and is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Valley Water District. The Preserve is located approximately three miles west of downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The Preserve ...
at 333 S. Valley View Blvd.
Designed to teach
water conservation
Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strateg ...
through water-efficient
landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following:
# Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...
, the Gardens offers free classes, demonstrations and expert advice.
History
Located at 3701 West Alta Drive, the Kiwanis Water Conservation Park opened in 1982 and contained over 300 species of desert-compatible plants arranged in a dozen gardens. The park was constructed on land donated by the
Las Vegas Valley Water District
The Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) is a not-for-profit government water supply agency that has been providing water to the Las Vegas Valley since 1954. The district helped build the area's water delivery system and now provides water to ...
. In 1986 the water district developed a master plan for the park. Following renovations to implement the master plan, the park was renamed and reopened in 1990 as the Desert Demonstration Gardens.
The Demonstration Gardens closed in early 2007 to facilitate moving to the new location. At the time, the site contained over 1,200 species of plants mostly from the
desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
s of the
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
. Since the plants are mature, many were moved in boxes as large as to the new site.
The gardens reopened on June 8, 2007 at the Springs Preserve.