Durham, N.C. – The Demonstration Garden at the Stanford L. Warren Branch Library was recognized with an award from the 2025 David Gibby International Master Gardener Search for Excellence at the 2025 International Master Gardener Conference, a virtual event for Master Gardener volunteers worldwide held from August 25-28, 2025.

This garden is a vibrant pollinator paradise brought to life through community partnership between the N.C. State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteers of Durham County, the Durham County Library, and Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The garden, located at Stanford L. Warran Branch Library on Fayetteville Street in the Hayti Neighborhood, was designed, planted, and cultivated by those groups. It opened in late 2024 and had a spring and summer of 2025 showing off beautiful plants and greeting our pollinator friends.

“This project was such an amazing way to bring together community partners to learn together and make a beautiful and educational space for the library,” said Ashley Troth, Horticulture Agent for Durham County Cooperative Extension. “The leadership of the Master Gardener volunteers and their vision for this project was crucial, but we couldn’t have done it without all of the contributions from the library staff, including Branch Manager Larry Daniels, and Annabel Renwick and her team from Duke Gardens.”

The International Master Gardener Search for Excellence (SFE) Awards are named in honor of Dr. David Gibby, the visionary founder of the Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program. Dr. Gibby launched the program in 1973 while working as a horticulture agent with Washington State University Extension. He recognized the growing need to provide homeowners with accurate and reliable gardening advice. With demand increasing and resources limited, he devised a groundbreaking solution: training and utilizing volunteers to assist with public inquiries.

The awards celebrate the outstanding volunteer work of EMG volunteers throughout the United States, Canada, England, and South Korea.

In recognition of their collaborative efforts to create this exceptional educational space, the Extension Master Gardener volunteer team’s entry of the Stanford L. Warren Demonstration Garden was awarded third place in the demonstration garden category.

The project stood out among a highly competitive and inspiring group. Dozens of applications were submitted across six award categories by Extension Master Gardener programs from 17 states. Each project was carefully reviewed by a panel of 31 judges, including 12 Extension professionals and 19 Master Gardener volunteers, representing 14 different states.

One reviewer stated about the Stanford L. Warren project: “Amazing partnership among so many organizations–great work planning and growing all those plants!”

Stanford L. Warren was chosen for the garden during the extensive renovations of the library, which culminated with a grand re-opening in winter 2024, after the library found itself with empty planting beds. What was initially slated for grass became an exciting opportunity to create a warm welcome to the updated building through intentional landscape design.

Recognizing the potential for an ecological space that also serves as an educational experience – a library is the perfect place for learning, after all – Flora O’Brien led an Extension Master Gardener (EMG) team to envision a demonstration garden where Durhamites can learn, grow and share sustainable gardening practices.

In the end, the garden allowed library staff to be empowered with gardening knowledge and gave Stanford L. Warren a teaching asset for educational programming.

“The garden has provided a beautiful touch to our newly renovated Library. The garden gives the community a newfound joy of gardening and its importance and impact on the environment,” said Stanford L. Warren Branch Manager Larry Daniels. “Since the implementation of the pollinators, we wanted to highlight the impact African Americans had on gardening and horticulture by holding The African American Legacy on Gardening and Horticulture Symposium.”

To learn more about the Stanford L. Warren Demonstration Garden click here or contact Troth at atroth@dconc.gov.

About the Extension Master Gardener^SM Volunteers

The Extension Master Gardener^SM Volunteers (EMGV) of Durham County’s goal is to provide research-based gardening information to the public. If you have questions for the Master Gardener volunteers, contact them by phone at 919-560-0528 or email mastergardener@dconc.gov.

###