The land was originally developed as a neighborhood called Foothills Mobile Home Park and was the home to many Lyons residents for 45 years. 
Starting on September 9th, 2013, Lyons received a years’ worth of rain over the span of a week in a ‘1000-year flood event’, causing the St. Vrain to swell dramatically, destroying many of the nearby buildings, including much of Foothills Mobile Home Park. 
Many of the destroyed mobile homes were left on their sides and unlivable for 5 years- some of them had trees growing directly through their walls. 
In 2017, the site was finally cleared and leveled.
Due to the position of the site near the river, it was determined that no buildings could be constructed on it moving forward. The Town of Lyons offered Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens, a non-profit organization, the space to be leased and used as a garden. 
Starting in 2019, the area was laid out to support the current 5 ecological zones system that it currently has to this day. Weeds and debris were removed from the site as well over the course of a year.
In June of 2020, the first water tap was installed, making planting much easier. The Prairie grasslands was the first ecological zone to be planted.
After the grasslands were established, the Foothills shortly followed, slowly becoming the full-fledged botanic gardens that it is today through the help of many volunteers over the years. Despite all the work that has gone into the gardens so far, plants are still being continually added. 
in 2022, the gardens had reached a point where it could be visited by the public. 