New Faces and Garden Spaces

To say this year at the adopt-a-plots at Ault Park is off to a grand start would be an understatement. By mid-March many of us were cleaning out our beds (the weeds were already in full force), dividing perennials, installing new plants and transplanting small shrubs. Park goers would stop and ask, Why aren’t the beds planted? With the magnolias, weeping cherries and many of the bulbs already done blooming, and temperatures warm and springlike, it would appear to non-gardeners that the adopt-a-plot gardeners were slacking off. Far from it!

We have a lot of new faces at the plots this year, five to be exact. It is not uncommon for people to ask about adopting a plot. I show them around the area, review what is entailed with adopting a garden and hand them my card. Only one person replied and adopted a plot last year. I am sure many who inquired returned home and realized they simply did not have time for another project.

This year is different. With new gardeners joining us at the park, five gardens will have a new look and one new plot has been developed.

I passed my plot, A Few of My Favorite Things, to a new gardener early this spring when no other plots were available for adoption. I was sad to see it go, but I knew that fresh eyes and new ideas would only improve the space. A few days later a different plot opened up for me to adopt! Funny how things work out.

This week we kick off the season with our spring meeting. It will be nice to see the other gardeners again. On topic: mulch orders, watering issues, new signs, meeting the new gardeners and ways to promote the gardens. This year I will be working on my shade garden, two unofficial spaces, a new sun garden and assisting with the rejuvenation of the rock garden. Whew, it will be a busy year and I will share it all with you here!

—The Landless Gardener

Jenny Koester, AKA The Landless Gardener, is the Garden Blog Editor for Horticulture magazine.