The beautiful Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds are growing even more beautiful thanks to a colorful landscaping project at Paddy Smith Park.
Jeff Rosendale, with Sierra Azul Nursery-Garden, John Skinner and Kevin Larkin created the concept for the park renovation.
The garden will now host native and other appropriate pollinator plants that attract butterflies, honey and native bees, birds, hummingbirds and a host of beneficial insects. Those new plants include sage, aster, monkey flower, goldenrod, buckwheat, verbena and more.
Paddy Smith Park is a great example of “Pioneer Days to Modern Ways,” this year’s theme for the Santa Cruz County Fair.
The 50-year-old park was established by film actress Paddy Smith, who lived in the San Lorenzo Valley and wanted to create a place on the fairgrounds that reminded her of home. So, she raised the money to build the park, located between the JJ Crosetti and Fine Arts buildings.
“This new landscaping is a modern make-over,” according to a news release.
Phase one of the project was completed last month, and would not have been possible without volunteer planters from Master Gardeners, Agricultural History Project, Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation and the Fair’s Floriculture Department.
Phase two of the renovation will begin in the fall after the Santa Cruz County Fair, which takes place Sept. 11-15.
The project is funded, in part, by a grant to study pollinator plants from the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, a donation from Granite Rock and the Fairgrounds Foundation.
The Fairgrounds Foundation is the recipient of the 2024 Water Awareness Project from Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, which also funded a drip irrigation system for the new plantings.
Santa Cruz County Fair celebrates the rich agricultural history of the community and people and invests heavily in bringing this heritage to youth. The 2024 Fair will be held Sept. 11-15 at the fairgrounds, located on Highway 152 just east of Watsonville.
More information about the Fair and the fairgrounds—a year-round entertainment and event venue—can be found at santacruzcountyfair.com.
