STOCKTON — Visitors to Delta’s beautiful “Botanical Garden and Meadow” will soon be able to identify its diverse mix flora as the garden blooms to life this spring.

Throughout this semester, the SJDC Horticulture Program will install signage to the foliage in the campus garden and meadow areas. The signs are laser etched, featuring the botanical and common names of the foliage. Delta’s garden area is located near the Shima Center across from the Shima parking lot.

The local community has always supported Delta College horticulture education. Donated funds from the Stockton Garden Club, the oldest garden club in the county, and the Native Plant Society, were used to purchase the materials needed for SJDC Horticulture students to make and install the metal signs. The signage is the next phase in the development of Delta’s Botanical Garden. The main purpose of the garden is to provide a learning laboratory for Delta’s horticulture program… while also creating a striking “Landscape Design” setting where the public may explore a variety of plant life at different seasonal stages.

The current garden is made up of two sections. One division is the Meadow Garden, which displays wildflowers and ornamental grasses. Two metal deer made by the Delta College welding program are placed in the meadow and a weather vane will be added later this year. Large signs to help identify the area and “picture signs” of the wildflowers are currently being added. Individual signs will also identify trees and shrubs in the meadow.

The other section is the Basic Garden, which contains a variety of shrubs, perennials and annuals. Students are currently repairing and adding new walkways to help explore the garden areas. A Mediterranean Plant Section was added, and plans to develop a future Oak Area with signage are in the works.

Horticulture instructor Mike Toscano says all the labor to expand, install and maintain the Botanical Garden is performed by Delta’s horticulture students. “The work is challenging and requires long hours, but the college and community will reap the rewards of a beautiful and educational botanical garden…right here at San Joaquin Delta College.”