Hands-on gardening can provide a reason to work together

I found this lovely little video on HULU recently, and couldn't wait to share it with my fellow MGVs. It shows what can be done with the right amounts of enthusiasm, determination, and follow-through.

Growing a City Hall Garden

What strikes me about this video is the similarity it bears to work our own MGVs have done in communities around the county to make these same kinds of dreams come true.

Anna Kokity-Bode has achieved remarkable success at the Merrill Community Garden in downtown Beloit.

Barb Guse has single-handedly created and maintained the ECHO Community Garden in downtown Janesville.

Deb Grams, Robin Anderson, Jim Haseman and Barb Guse have worked together to provide educational programming as an adjunct to the Rock County Community Garden program.

Cindy Leverenz is a regular who works together with Mike Maddox every week at the Community Garden.

The Rock County Sheriff's Department's RECAP program, in conjunction with the UWEX, has given Rock County Jail inmates a way to give back to the community by working in the RECAP garden on Highway 14 next to the jail. The program is currently being administered by Sgt. Jason Harding. Jim Haseman has been instrumental in working with the inmates, teaching and mentoring. The program has taught dozens of inmates basic gardening skills and has proven that gardening can give them a usable skill for when they go back to their homes and families. UWEX Horticulture Agent Mike Maddox organized this program and has continued to work with the program to provide education and oversight.

Beyond community gardens there have been and continue to be dozens of other worthwhile projects.

Glen Erickson took a tattered remnant of a garden at the Angel Museum in Beloit and created a showplace.

The education team at Rotary Botanical Gardens has given of their time unstintingly to create programming that brings the wonder of the garden into the lives of hundreds of area children every year.

Regular volunteers who work at RBG, or to help care for gardens at their churches, their children's schools, their neighborhoods, deserve huge accolades for their unselfish efforts.

Kudos to all those I have named above, and to all those I have not. I know there are literally dozens of you who do invaluable work with little or no recognition. If you weren't named above it's not because you're not appreciated it's just because I haven't had the opportunity to shine a light on your project.

If you have a project you'd like to promote through the blog, let me know. If you want to highlight a project you've completed, send me some photos and a summary of the project and I'll post it for you with pleasure.

Every MGV who gives of their time to promote a better understanding of the value of gardening is an ambassador to the community. The work that MGVs do far surpasses its immediate impact. I firmly believe it provides beneficial change for the long haul.

Congratulations to you all for your hard work. Everything you do makes a difference. I'm here to give you all the recognition you deserve. Send your photos and summaries to me at:

mastergardenermary@gmail.com. I promise I'll post it for you.