“Open Gardens” Proposal

This tour started with the Fred Heutte Center square-foot vegetable garden, and then proceeded to the nearby gardens of NMG members Anne Odell, Jean Harris and Steve Gunn, Marilyn Gowen, and Kindra Greene, and ending with mine.

In spite of the heat, it was fun to show and tell these visitors a little about what I’ve done and why I’ve done it in my tiny urban backyard. The other hosts felt the same way!

Meanwhile, building on Jim’s model, the Membership Committee has proposed organizing some similar opportunities for us to get to know each other in a new way: through a series of “open garden” mornings. We think it would be fun, educational, and would give us all a chance to swap ideas and learn about and appreciate each other’s diverse gardening interests.

How it might work: 6 to 10 NMGs who garden near some central area (Larchmont, Wards Corner, Azalea Gardens, etc) would agree to open their gates for fellow MGs to stop in during a specified time slot — 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for example. We’d provide a list with addresses of the hosts, and everybody would be invited to visit as many of the open gardens as they like, in any order, by car, bike, or even on foot during that time.

If you think you’d like to participate in this “open garden” activity either as a host or a visitor (or both!) — and “for fun,” not for work or education hours — drop me a quick email at susdudley@gmail.com so that the Committee can gauge interest level and possibly get something like this organized.

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We hope you’ll like the idea as much as we do!

Susan has kept a record of some of the challenges her garden has posed, along with some of the steps she’s taken to overcome or work around them. Not a requirement, but it worked out as an informative takeaway for the folks who stopped by. See the chart below - she can provide the template for this document on request.