Martial Cottle Park Demonstration Garden and Community Education Center

Address: Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Ave, San Jose, CA 95136

Directions: Entry to the park is free. Parking is $6. There are walkways in the park to our garden location.

Visiting hours: Our parcel is open to the public during our regular work hours: Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9–noon. We’re also on site at other times and during scheduled events. If the gate is open, feel free to come on in.

Please do not come to the gardens if you are not feeling well.

View signage displayed in demo gardens

What to see and do

Our gardens demonstrate a variety of sustainable landscaping practices such as water conservation, green waste reduction, and encouraging a healthy ecosystem. Educational signage throughout gardens gives visitors a self-guided tour. 

We offer a variety of talks and workshops throughout the year, as well as hosting our regular plant sales: Spring Garden Fair, Fall Garden Fair, and monthly succulent sales on the third Saturday of the month.

Mornings at Martial Cottle Park is a program offering field trips for kindergarten–4th graders to learn about gardens from UC Master Gardeners.

Plant collections in the garden

Within our parcel, we have many areas with different plant collections or themes, from California native plants to backyard fruit trees. Click on the map to see a larger version or view a list of garden collections with photos and descriptions.

Important: Please respect our gardens and do not pick or eat any parts of the plants without permission.

Our history

By the end of 2016, we completed construction of a 72-foot Solar Light Greenhouse. The greenhouse is used to grow most of the plants for Master Gardener projects throughout Santa Clara County. Many of the vegetables, flowers, herbs and plant seedlings grown on-site are sold at our Spring and Fall Garden Fairs. Other plants are used for research and teaching purposes.

Operated in partnership with the Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Department.