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The garden is the poor man's apothecary.
German proverb
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What The Garden Workshop Is All about
The Historic Kenwood Garden Workshop is a casual group of serious & seriously fun people. All our efforts are completely voluntary and we welcome members from the immediate neighborhood and beyond. We help to nurture the neighborhood by undertaking philanthropic and landscaping projects, all the while enjoying each others company, food, stories and friendship. If you would like more information, click here to contact us.
Planting The Seeds
Neighborhood lore says that a group informally known as the Kenwood Workers would pitch in and help each other with gardening and working in yards and fields. Of course, most of that was more agricultural than aesthetic. In the more recent past, the neighborhood has had various incarnations of Garden Clubs, some of whom enjoyed meeting and studying up on gardening (things like Florida-friendly planting and zone-appropriate landscape ideas); others preferring to spend time going to local plant shows. A couple of years ago, a group of neighbors got together and decided to incorporate the best of the old and new. The Historic Kenwood Garden Workshop became a monthly meeting of folks interested in gardening and improving the neighborhood by offering helping hands to neighbors wanting to improve their landscaping, raising plants to sell to raise funds for charitable works, and spreading the word about gardening as a community activity.
Watching Things Grow
Spring usually finds the Garden Workshop hard at work cutting, digging, dividing and potting up plants in preparation for our annual plant sale. Moved to the Fall this year, the Workshop gathers en mass in a local parking lot and takes donations for the frangipanis, hibiscus, fire spikes, angel trumpets, bromeliads, Mexican daisies, various succulents, orchids and whatever else it has successfully tended in the prior months. In a few short hours, a season’s worth of lovingly cared for plants have found homes throughout the county and we have raised funds to help those less fortunate.
Reaping Rewards
The Historic Kenwood Garden Workshop helped grow the community over the past year by:
Beautifying and maintaining plantings around key corners in the neighborhood - on the exit ramp of I-275 and at the corner of 5th Ave N & 28th St.
Making over gardens/yards of deserving neighbors
Sponsoring a needy family, giving them food, presents and a Christmas tree
Buying gifts/supplies for young people affected by HIV and women escaping from abusive relationships
Holding a canned food drive to help feed families over the holidays
We have partnered as volunteers with local agencies including:
AIDS Service Association of Pinellas, Inc (ASAP)
Blooming Place for Kids
CASA
The Garden Workshop usually meets the third Saturday of every month. Locations vary from month to month according to what is planned. For more info on meeting times and locations, click here. So, whether you’re a gardening novice, a serious plant person, or just someone like me, come join us and find out why people are saying "There Grows The Neighborhood."
