Inch by inch, row by row: Curtis Jones is helping two popular Cooperative Extension programs grow

Curtis Jones may have dedicated his career to selling garden seeds, but nurturing communities has always been his greatest source of pride. That’s why he’s helping Pima County Cooperative Extension expand their education and outreach efforts with substantial gifts to the Pima County Master Gardener program and Tucson Village Farm.

“It’s been fun to be able to help organizations that help,” Curtis said. “As Mother Teresa said, ‘You throw a pebble in the pond, and it creates lots of ripples. That’s exactly what happens with Tucson Village Farm and the Master Gardener program.”

Since the 2023 sale of his vegetable, herb and flower seed packet company, Botanical Interests, Curtis has given more than $1,200,000 to the Extension programs that are near and dear to his heart.

Those gifts include funding toward a new greenhouse on the Master Gardener campus. The new facility is significantly larger than the previous greenhouse and shade house, and it’s the centerpiece of a host of exciting new educational opportunities focused on sustainable practices for arid environments.

“The new greenhouse and future sustainable landscape garden will provide an innovative environment where volunteers can learn advanced plant propagation, water-wise gardening, and sustainable landscape practices firsthand,” said Celeste Gambill, one of Arizona’s statewide Master Gardener coordinators. “More importantly, it gives us the ability to welcome the public into an engaging educational space where science-based knowledge can be shared directly with the community.”

Curtis has also funded a fruit orchard and new signage at Tucson Village Farm, as well as four new paid positions – two at TVF and two at Master Gardeners.

“Curtis’s generosity has created far more than a greenhouse,” Gambill said. “It has established a lasting outdoor education space that will expand sustainable gardening education across southern Arizona for generations to come.”

Deep southern Arizona roots

Curtis Jones was born in Nevada, but his Tucson roots run deep. He came here in elementary school and stayed to earn a bachelor’s degree in plant protection from the U of A College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences in 1980.

After college, Curtis didn’t want to work in production agriculture. Instead, he took his expertise into plant sales, working for a nursery in Reno, where he earned a master’s degree in plant science from University of Nevada, Reno.

After Reno, Curtis spent several years as sales director for a Colorado-based wholesale garden seed packet company. When the stress started causing migraines, he and his then-wife decided to start Botanical Interests.

The business was a success. When the pandemic hit and many people turned to gardening for food security and self-sufficiency, it achieved even greater prosperity.

After 28 years, the company had grown from one employee packing seeds to about 60 full-time employees. When they sold, they were the only supplier in the nation for Whole Foods and Sprouts and were on shelves in 4,500 stores and nurseries.

Curtis traces his love of plants to his sophomore year at Sabino High School, where plant-loving biology teacher and track coach John Brooks helped him believe in himself.

“Maybe there was something inherently in me that liked plants, too,” he said.

He asked Tucson Village Farm to name the fruit orchard after Brooks, who is a dear friend and longtime supporter.

Cultivating community, connection and kindness

Curtis’s philanthropic plans began with gifts to Tucson Village Farm, which serves an average of 19,000 individuals and families in and around Tucson each year. But after he visited Gambill’s office for landscaping advice, he decided on a more expansive undertaking – one that improved on his already-generous donations to TVF and included gifts to Pima County Master Gardeners as well.

“Each year, the Master Gardener program educates more than 37,000 Arizona residents on sustainable landscaping, water conservation, invasive species prevention, wildfire mitigation and environmental stewardship,” Gambill said. “Curtis’s investment strengthens our ability to prepare communities to care for the Sonoran Desert responsibly while inspiring future generations to protect our shared natural resources.”

Elizabeth Sparks, the 4-H assistant agent who oversees TVF, said Curtis has changed young peoples’ lives firsthand, cultivating opportunity and resilience.

“Every gift he makes helps young people get their hands in the soil, learn where their food comes from, and build lifelong skills in nutrition, sustainability and leadership. His support expands access to fresh food, meaningful outdoor learning and programs that empower youth to grow not just gardens, but confidence and connection,” Sparks said.

Curtis, an avid cyclist who once rode from Tucson to Bangor, Maine, now splits time between Boulder, Colorado and Tucson. But he isn’t slowing down, and neither is his generous spirit. Since retiring, he has become the Mad Hatter of Mt. Sanitas – giving out thousands (up to 2100) of free hiking caps to bring a small spark of kindness and happiness to people at a popular hiking trail in Boulder.

The Mt. Sanitas Mad Hatter Project is Curtis’s way of reminding people that random acts of kindness can change the world.