all ages

National Gardening Association is proud to announce our partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Scotts Miracle-Gro in the 2013 GRO1000 Gardens and Green Spaces Award program.

When PS 41 in Greenwich Village, New York was chosen to receive one of the National Gardening Association’s Adopt a School Garden grants sponsored by Organic Valley, parent volunteer Vicki Sando could not have imagined that their container garden that’s maintained by the Kindergarten class, would turn into a nearly

The National Gardening Association and The Home Depot would like to congratulate the 2013 Youth Garden Grant Winners. Here are some tips and ideas from the inspirational programs receiving the top Youth Garden Grant awards:

Arranging crops so they complement each other in some way is known as companion planting. Plants that have different requirements — for nutrients, sunlight, and space, for instance — often make good garden buddies. Because they are unlikely to compete for resources, you can plant them close together to save space. What's more, some combinations can actually help one or more of the companions flourish. Consider the following factors:

From natural disasters to acts of senseless violence, this fall we were reminded that despite our best efforts, the children in our lives cannot be completely shielded from pain and loss. Even if evil events do not unfold directly in our own lives, in our digital society, we share experiences in very personal ways via mass media and the Internet.

The Gardening with Kids Shop is a special part of the National Gardening Association developed to support our mission of promoting home, school, and community gardening as a means to renew and sustain the essential connections between people, plants, and our environment.

Youth gardens offer many opportunities for gardeners to give back to their community. Drawing from the concept of “Pay It Forward,” by which a person who has received a gift repays it by giving a gift to another instead of the original donor, encourage your young gardeners this year to “Plant It Forward.” Here are a few ideas to consider:

Due to Hurricane Sandy we will be extending the deadline for the Healthy Sprouts Award applications until November 5th at 11:59pm.

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Thanking volunteers and sponsors is an important activity for all youth garden programs. Although appreciation for contributions should be shown year round, Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in the celebration of harvest, is a great time to present your loyal supporters with a special gift to acknowledge their generous donations of time, talents and funds.

Having had a mild winter, the Twelve Stones Community Garden kicked-off their first youth garden in February 2012. Students jumped at the chance to get raised beds started, filling them with soil and making plant selections.