One little seed was planted ! And wow it is growing...
Sherri Snyder woke up on the morning of the garden tour thinking, “What if MLGC provided native landscaping for our local Habitat for Humanity houses? When building houses, the landscaping is the last thing done, and often there are limited funds to spend for landscaping. And wouldn't it be great if they could eventually be on our garden tour."
At the garden tour, Sherri shared her idea with Denise Kramer, Pres. of MLGC and she loved it. The next day we became aware that one of our members, Greg Koeln volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. Our small group met at the MLGC picnic to share our ideas. Another light bulb moment. Linda and Donna Miller had enrolled in the Landscape Design school and needed to develop a plan for their class, so their plan will be based on the habitat house. After our meeting, Greg emailed Steve Bortz, Executive Director, Garrett County Habitat for Humanity, who contacted the first homeowners, who are excited to work with us. Within a month, the MLGC H4H-Habitat for Humanity committee was established.
Since this little seed of an idea was planted, the project has really grown. We have visited the homeowners who shared their vision with us. Reached out to our friend Ashley Bodkins, UMD Extension Senior Agent, who will be partnering with us. Applied for a grant and funding to help offset the cost of the project. It’s amazing how much has been accomplished in such a short time. All this took place before finding out Habitat for Humanity is a National Garden Club initiative. Double win!
On Monday, October 11, 2021 we held our first formal H4H Committee. The landscape plans using mostly native plants was created by members Linda Harris and Donna Miller while attending the FGC Landscape design school will be used for our first H4H garden.
On October 21, Ashley Bodkins met with the committee members and the Hopeland homeowners to discuss the landscape plan in detail. Ashley worked with the homeowners children to perform a soil sample (see photo below). The garden area will be prepared and then planted in the spring of 2022.
Sherri Snyder woke up on the morning of the garden tour thinking, “What if MLGC provided native landscaping for our local Habitat for Humanity houses? When building houses, the landscaping is the last thing done, and often there are limited funds to spend for landscaping. And wouldn't it be great if they could eventually be on our garden tour."
At the garden tour, Sherri shared her idea with Denise Kramer, Pres. of MLGC and she loved it. The next day we became aware that one of our members, Greg Koeln volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. Our small group met at the MLGC picnic to share our ideas. Another light bulb moment. Linda and Donna Miller had enrolled in the Landscape Design school and needed to develop a plan for their class, so their plan will be based on the habitat house. After our meeting, Greg emailed Steve Bortz, Executive Director, Garrett County Habitat for Humanity, who contacted the first homeowners, who are excited to work with us. Within a month, the MLGC H4H-Habitat for Humanity committee was established.
Since this little seed of an idea was planted, the project has really grown. We have visited the homeowners who shared their vision with us. Reached out to our friend Ashley Bodkins, UMD Extension Senior Agent, who will be partnering with us. Applied for a grant and funding to help offset the cost of the project. It’s amazing how much has been accomplished in such a short time. All this took place before finding out Habitat for Humanity is a National Garden Club initiative. Double win!
On Monday, October 11, 2021 we held our first formal H4H Committee. The landscape plans using mostly native plants was created by members Linda Harris and Donna Miller while attending the FGC Landscape design school will be used for our first H4H garden.
On October 21, Ashley Bodkins met with the committee members and the Hopeland homeowners to discuss the landscape plan in detail. Ashley worked with the homeowners children to perform a soil sample (see photo below). The garden area will be prepared and then planted in the spring of 2022.
In May 1999, a partnership was formed between National Garden Clubs, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity. HFH's mission is to eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth. NGC's goal is to encourage local garden clubs to share their expertise in gardening and landscaping with the owners of Habitat homes. In some cases, local businesses will provide materials to encourage beautification of the properties. In a recent example, the Florida Federation of Garden Club members successfully had graduates of NGC Schools teach a landscaping maintenance seminar to 18 new Habitat for Humanity homeowners. Ames tools, an NGC corporate partner, provided a hose and hose reel for each homeowner.
Habitat for Humanity Garden’s philosophy is that no commitment, physical or monetary, is too small. All endeavors and contributions will be gratefully acknowledged. State chairmen, please contact the Habitat for Humanity Chairman and share fun facts and stories. We hope to build a nationwide community through social media with this project.
A direct line of communication has been put in place for one-on-one networking between HFH Affiliates and garden club representatives. The more than 1,500 HFH Affiliates have been made aware of the NGC and HFH partnership.
The program's emphasis is on enhancing the environment by landscaping HFH homes with hearty native trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers that also attract butterflies. It is the hope of NGC to have the community, both adult and young gardeners, involved in this very worthy project. NGC's goal is 100% state participation, in some manner, across the nation.
Habitat for Humanity Garden’s philosophy is that no commitment, physical or monetary, is too small. All endeavors and contributions will be gratefully acknowledged. State chairmen, please contact the Habitat for Humanity Chairman and share fun facts and stories. We hope to build a nationwide community through social media with this project.
A direct line of communication has been put in place for one-on-one networking between HFH Affiliates and garden club representatives. The more than 1,500 HFH Affiliates have been made aware of the NGC and HFH partnership.
The program's emphasis is on enhancing the environment by landscaping HFH homes with hearty native trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers that also attract butterflies. It is the hope of NGC to have the community, both adult and young gardeners, involved in this very worthy project. NGC's goal is 100% state participation, in some manner, across the nation.