10 Ways Gardeners Can Help Their Communities

From supporting companies that give back to sharing produce with others, gardeners can perform a valuable role in helping heal the world.

May 19, 2020

By: Debbie Wolfe

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Gardening With a Purpose

According to Bonnie Plants, there are 16 million new gardeners in the US so far this year. With so many new gardens being planted, there's plenty that gardeners can offer to help build strong, local communities. During challenging times, people often turn to gardening — an impulse that is not new. In fact, it's deeply rooted in our society. During World War I and II, many Americans turned to victory gardens to help supplement food for their homes. It was also a way to connect a community and presented an opportunity to help others in need. Gardening can allow you to manage anxiety and create a local food source in your own backyard. Whether you're growing a large garden crop or just a few containers of tomatoes, there's plenty you can do to ease some food shortage stress and even help to bring your community together.

Plant an Extra Row

Plant A Row for the Hungry is part of a national movement that began in 1995 by Garden Communicators International (formerly the Garden Writers Association) to encourage individual gardeners, companies and community gardens to donate fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers to help feed those in need. Getting started is easy— just plant an extra row or container of edibles with the intention of donating. Your produce can be dropped off at your local food pantry and/or soup kitchen.

Donate Extra Produce

Even if you do not have room to plant extra edibles, you will most likely have more produce than you and your family can eat. By donating just one percent of your harvest or a grocery bag full of fresh produce, you can make a difference for your community. Most home gardeners are not aware they can donate garden produce to food pantries. AmpleHarvest.org has been connecting gardeners and food pantries since 2009. To find out where you can donate extra produce, search for the nearest food pantry on AmpleHarvest.org's website. You can also check with your neighbors or even a local church or senior center to see what they might need. Chances are, they won't pass up a bag of vine ripe tomatoes.

Share Plants With New Gardeners

Gardeners naturally love to share. New gardeners in particular would welcome extra plants as they get started. Although gardening generally isn't an expensive hobby, supplies and plants do add up. For newbies who aren't savvy with seed starting, an extra seedling or two will help boost their gardening confidence and will give them the means to produce extra food.

Donate Plants and Seeds to Community Gardens

Community gardens are wonderful examples of how people of different backgrounds can work together. Although you may not need to rent a garden plot, for many gardeners who live in urban areas, a community garden is the only way they can grow their own food. To support the spread of gardening, consider donating plants and seeds to community gardens, perhaps in the form of extra seeds you purchased or herbs you recently divided. If you want to purchase seedlings from retailers to donate, make the purchase go farther by getting plants from growers who are helping communities as well. Companies like Bonnie Plants, the largest and only national supplier and producer of vegetable and herb plants in the United States, has teamed up with AmpleHarvest.org to launch the G row More. Fe ed More. initiative to encourage home gardeners to donate a total of 10 million pounds of fresh, home-grown vegetables to local food pantries this season. Bonnie Plants is donating 5 percent of all plant sales from May 1 through July 31, to AmpleHarvest.org.

Plant Flowers for the Elderly

Older citizens can't always get out and about, so bringing the joy of plants and flowers to them is one way you can celebrate National Senior Citizens Day (Aug. 21), or any day of the year. A lovely way to bring a little cheer to community members who can not garden due to mobility issues is to plant something pretty. If you can't plant a flowering shrub yourself, consider sending a small garden kit. Many plant growers offer delivery of not just plants, but growing kits as well. It can be a simple tabletop herb container or a new row of hydrangeas. Whatever time and plants you share, the appreciation will last all season.

Start a Community Garden

Most communities have plenty of green space that's just lawn. A community garden doesn't have to be owned by the county or local municipality. Speak to private businesses or churches about donating green space for a community garden. It takes more time and effort to maintain a lawn versus a garden — which is a good selling point! Plus, the crops can be donated to local food pantries or people in the surrounding community who are in need. One great resource for learning more about community gardens is The American Community Gardening Association.

Make Space

Not all budding gardeners are ready to join a community garden. If you have extra space in your own garden, consider sharing some of it with a neighbor or two. This way, you can set up a system of growing more varieties of produce to trade and share. It's like a mini-community garden just for friends and family.

Community Cleanup

Take pride in your community and lead the charge in getting it in shape. Not all common green spaces need to be planted up with colorful annuals, but a good pruning and trash pick up may be all it needs to foster community pride. People will be inspired to spruce up their yards once they see how lovely their neighborhood is looking. It just takes one action to set the rest in motion. To get started, visit Earthday.org to find a community cleanup near you.

Promote Local

During difficult times, it's important that we think locally and act responsibly. And Bonnie Plants notes that gardening is a booming trend among millennial and Gen Z gardeners — nearly two in five Americans under 35 now grow their own herbs or vegetables. These younger gardeners are often looking for ways to embrace self-sufficiency, eat locally and tap into the foodie pleasures of growing unique, flavorful produce they won't find in the grocery store. Gardening is important for mental and physical health and it promotes locally sourced food. Eating garden to table is healthier and better for the environment. Homegrown and locally grown produce that gets to your table fast reduces fuel consumption, and offers more nutrients than produce that travels over time and distance. You can make a difference by planting an edible garden and lessening the burden on the global food chain.

Nurturing a New Generation of Gardeners

A young gardener plants Bonnie Plants Harvest Select vegetable plants in her raised garden bed. The collection is specifically designed to help home growers have a more successful harvest as more young people start gardens to grow their own fresh food.

Share Your Knowledge

Your years of gardening experience is perhaps the most valuable thing you can offer new gardeners. Consider mentoring a new gardener or two. There's only so much a gardener can learn from a book or via Youtube. Even better, become a master gardener and share knowledge across your community. Hands-on experience is the best way to learn and your knowledge will help cultivate a new generation of home gardeners.

Honor Someone

Companies across the country are using plant deliveries to honor frontline workers and those who are homebound. Bailey Nurseries, a family-owned plant company based in Minnesota, has been leaving its Endless Summer hydrangeas at Minneapolis-area nursing homes. See how you can also give the gift of flowers by coordinating a similar effort with local companies to share the beauty of flowers with new graduates, the elderly or the homebound.

Get Students Into Gardening

Many schools, especially urban ones, would love to have a garden, but lack the means to do so. Many plant growers and non-profits already participate in communities to spread the love of gardening. You can help by supporting and promoting these organizations. Global Gardens, a non-profit that empowers students in low-income communities to create gardens, delivered nearly 200 five-gallon portable fabric garden pots to students in the Oklahoma City area when they could not participate in their school gardens. ShrubBucket, an Ithaca, New York, company that delivers plants directly from the nursery to your home, recently donated $5,000 to the Ithaca Children's Garden to support its continuing mission to connect children with nature. You may not be able to give every student a home garden or donate a large sum of cash, but you can connect with your local school district or gardening non-profit to see how you can be of assistance to help with a school garden program.