Welcome, Volunteers!

Thank you so much for volunteering in our Public Gardens – the Demonstration Garden, the Heritage Garden, the Pinetum, plus the Cottage bed and Children’s Garden. Volunteers are the lifeblood and backbone of any public garden and your participation is critical to the success of the gardens. We welcome your help in maintaining and even raising our horticultural standards. HAS is deeply grateful and appreciative of your assistance. Whether you work three mornings a year, or three mornings a week, your contribution makes a difference. Thank you!

HAS does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status or any other status protected by applicable law in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, selection of volunteers and vendors, provision of services, and hiring and firing of staff. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our volunteers, members, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and staff.

Also, we want to be inclusive of everyone – so let’s discuss family, food, plants, books, movies, pets, weather, and not politics, religion, canvassing, or any divisive topics.

COVID PRECAUTIONS: 

• Follow CDC guidelines and precautions for El Paso County. 
• Wearing masks is a personal choice unless otherwise advised.
• Maintain your own comfortable distance from other workers.
• Break time will always be outside.  
• Please bring your own snack and beverages for the break.  Snacks to share are a welcome surprise!
• Please bring your own tools, if you have them. Bring pruners, kneeler, and trowel/knife.
• If you can’t, or forget to bring your own tools, please use tools provided by HAS and wear your own gloves.

Schedule – During the growing season, volunteers can work Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Demonstration Garden and Wednesdays in the Heritage. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, except in the hottest weather, when we start earlier and stop earlier. Please work any two hours or more within this time frame. Working shorter hours is fine, too. Please just let a few people know you are leaving so we don’t suddenly look up and think you’ve gotten lost!

Parking – When working in the Demo Garden, volunteers can park directly in front of the cottage or the City’s greenhouses (where the signs say, “Reserved” or “Educational Parking only”), just to the north of the cottage on the east side of the road. These spaces are reserved for HAS. Volunteers can also park in the three spaces just to the north, next to the City’s fenced-in parking area. Heritage Garden parking along the street, during volunteer times, is generally not a problem. 

Contact Info – Please make sure that you give us your email and phone number, in case we need to reach you to let you know plans have changed. In case of poor weather, please check email by 7:30 a.m. the morning of volunteering, to see if volunteering will take place. You will only be emailed for cancellations. In general, we do not work in rain (drizzle, occasionally), snow or when high temperatures are predicted to be less than 45 degrees. Please always use your own comfort level to determine if volunteering that day is right for you. 

Personal/Public Safety – Please always work in the safest manner possible, both for yourself and for others. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes – a must – and clothing that is both protective and respectful – no obscenities, politics, sexually suggestive messages, etc. Also, always work within your own limitations and with care of your own physical abilities. If something is too heavy, always ask for assistance, or if a task may cause you any problems, then or in the future, please be sure to speak up. We value you and your health and want you to always find the work fun but not harmful. Also, be aware of garden hoses in pathways; shovels and rakes should be laid face down, etc. We need to be aware and protective of visitors, too. 

Children – Children are always welcome in the gardens, but please be aware that we are working diligently during volunteer times and it may not always be the best place for children. If you do need/want to bring yours, please remember that you are solely responsible for their welfare, care, entertainment, etc. in the gardens, as well as in the parking lot. 

Recording Hours – All volunteers are responsible for recording their own hours in the garden. Annually, we total up the hours and send them to the Parks Department, who then report these to the City Council. Please round up your time to the next quarter hour. The volunteer recording year is from November 1 to October 31^st. Remember to keep a record for yourself, as mileage to and from the gardens is tax deductible. Please record your hours on your page in the Volunteer Notebook.

Notes – Please remember that visitors to our gardens are looking for peace and tranquility, so we strongly discourage loud voices or yelling to communicate – unless a tree is falling. Then yell all you want. 

Garden – Some notes about the processes we follow in the Gardens:

• Trash – if you find any trash in the gardens, please put it in the wagons and not in the large black bags used for garden debris. Garden debris is recycled at Rocky Top Resources who has a zero-trash policy. 
• Trash – Do not knot the trash bags. One-fold-over is perfect, but double-knotting bags is frustrating to untie and slows the process of emptying the bags.
• Potting – we do a lot of potting at the gardens for our Annual Plant Sale. Please remember the formula for perfect soil – 45% mineral matter, 5% organic matter, 25% water and 25% air. Don’t compact the soil! If you are potting, use the gentlest pressure possible to firm the plant in the pot. Pushing hard on the soil only compacts it and removes pore space for air, slowing the rooting process. Watering is very compacting, and soil will settle with the first watering. 
• Potting – fill pots with soil to barely 1/4” below the top of the pot. After wintering over, the level will most likely be at 1” below the top. This allows maximum soil space for roots, giving customers a more vigorous plant. 
• Pruning – Absolutely no pruning of shrubs and trees without the gardener’s or board member’s express permission and presence. If you are not sure, please ask! Experienced board members or gardeners will happily share with you any tricks or tips you might take to your own gardens. When pruning roses (the gardens have nearly 150), please be sure that you are certain you are totally comfortable with proper practices – if not, please ask!
• Weeding – The ideal time to weed, of course, is when the weeds are a few inches tall or smaller. The best way to deal with that size is to simply pull it out, including the roots. Use your trowel only for bigger weeds, and if possible, simply slide the tool in at an angle to the side of the weed and lift gently, disturbing the soil as little as possible. Only dig into the soil when the root/weed is large. Disturbing the soil as little as possible during weeding means new weed seeds won’t be lifted to the surface of the soil where they can germinate, meaning less weeding.
• Vegetable Garden – Please do not step into the vegetable garden beds at any time. Please wait to harvest until the gardener or board member directs you to do so, as there might be photo opportunities/tours that may look better with veggies still on the plant.  
• Beds – Many times we have to step into the beds to weed, but if it is possible to weed from the outside and avoid stepping in them (thus compacting the soil), the happier the plants will be. If the beds are wet from rain/watering, avoid stepping into them to the best of your ability. 
• Tools – When possible, please bring your favorite tools, especially hand tools, pruners, trowels, kneelers, etc. We generally have enough shovels, but during the autumn or spring rake-off, please bring your own rake(s) if you have them, well-labeled with your name. 
• Chemicals/Fertilizers – The gardener or board members are the only persons who are allowed to use either chemicals or fertilizers, organic or otherwise. Please do not do so unless directly instructed to do so by the gardener. 
• Security – The cottage and gates to sheds and tool areas must be locked at all times, to prevent theft when our attention is elsewhere. We recognize this can be a nuisance, but theft is an even worse nuisance. 
• Watering – If you are asked by the gardener or a board member to water, please note – it’s harder to water pots and plants in the ground than you might think! If you are unsure, please ask. It generally takes much longer to water than most people realize. 
• Raking – We spend a fair amount of time raking in the fall and winter. Please do not rake up mulch! Use a heavy touch when raking, until you get down to the level of the mulch, and then use light pressure to get the last of the leaves, and allow the mulch to remain behind. 
• Cottage – The cottage is a wonderful resource for our volunteers, and only volunteers can use it. Please do not allow/suggest to a visitor that they may use our cottage restroom, no matter how dire the need. Public facilities are located to the south and west, past the parking lot to the south of the Demo, in a large stone building or in porta-potties at the pickleball courts. At the Heritage Garden, the closest facility is the 7-11, across Uintah. Colorado College allows the use of their restrooms in the CC Facility Building for HAS volunteers only. As a courtesy to the staff there, please always identify yourself as a HAS volunteer and ask each time to use their facilities. 
• Public – Please remember you are the face of HAS and the gardens when working as a volunteer. If you are asked questions, please take that opportunity to let the public know we are a member-supported non-profit, and perhaps mention any upcoming events that might be happening. If they ask you a gardening question, please answer only if you feel 100% confident that your answer is science-based. We want to make sure that we are recognized for being a true resource for our community. 

Thank you for joining us as a volunteer! We have a wonderful group and know you will be a valued asset as you help us to improve our gardens. We really look forward to working with you. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Thank you!

The Horticultural Art Society of Colorado Springs, Inc. Board of Trustees