Commemorate National Garden Month with Fun and Helpful Ideas In Your Neighborhood

Here are some ways to spread the spirit of gardening in your neighborhood.

Plant a Row for the Hungry at a Local Community Garden

In this land of plenty it’s tough to envision being without access to excellent food at a reasonable cost. Having said that, for numerous Americans, finding a healthy meal is not always simple. It’s estimated almost 33 million people, including 13 million children, end up with emergency food because they cannot manage to pay for the food they need.

Participate In a Plant Swap at a Nearby Church

The ideal plants aren’t always from your neighborhood garden center or seed catalog. As a substitute they are gathered through quick cuttings or by gathering up seeds from the garden of a friend or family member. These “pass-along plants” supply both splendor and affection to your garden.

Have a Spring Cleaning Green Up Day at a Senior’s Home

Spring cleaning — indoors and out — is a ritual that marks the end of winter and the start of a brand new season, and similar to many activities, it’s more fun when you share it. A senior’s home, your street, neighborhood, town park, and any other public space could use some greening up; it just takes someone to organize a small group.

Yard Sale Philanthropy

The advent of spring, coupled with a bit longer days and higher temperatures, gives you dreams of green oases teeming with tomatoes and brimming with beans. Spring is also a time for cleaning out. This year, celebrate National Garden Month in an unexpected way-by visiting yard sales in search of second-hand stuff that every senior’s garden needs.

Organize a Garden Visit with Senior Friends, Over Tea!

Gardeners grow more than plants – every one of us has stories to share. For a change, why not share them in over tea? Socialization and admiration of another person’s garden brings joy to everyone.

Other ideas for having fun with seniors in your neighborhood:

-Organize or get involved in a town beautification day.

-Check out your regional farmers’ market.

-Compliment a neighbor on his or her garden.

-Gather with neighbors to purchase compost and mulch in bulk quantities.

-Volunteer to plant and keep up a garden at your area library.

-Present a gardening article or essay to your community paper.

-Interview an elder to learn what foods his or her family grew when he or she was a child.

-Seek out neighbors from different ethnic groups to learn about their native cuisine and gardening techniques.

-Clean up your street or a local park by picking up trash.

-Share a cutting of one of your favorite landscape or houseplants with a senior neighbor.

-Inventory your gardening gear (e.g., pots, seeds, stakes) and give away the excess to a neighborhood gardening program, assisted living facility or school garden.

-Celebrate other important “green” holidays: Earth Day (April 22) and National Arbor Day (April 26).

-Volunteer at your local school’s garden.

-Volunteer at a local senior center’s garden.

-Start a neighborhood garden club.

-Share your garden’s bounty with a senior neighbor.

-Have fun doing a gardening project with a senior.

-Deliver houseplants or flowers to a nursing home, assisted living or children’s hospital.

-Donate past issues of gardening magazines to your library, or buy the library a gift subscription.