Pine Needle Garden Club Establishes Community Garden

In March of 2022, Pine Needle Garden Club led a collaborative community garden project, which involved the UGA Master Gardeners, Hogansville Active Life Center, 4-H, and several other groups and individuals within the community. President Stephanie Culver, Anne Duraski, Wanda Lowe, Maureen Gay and Stephanie Odom headed the community garden project that resulted in the creation of a Garden/Green Space that turned an unused outdoor space outside the Hogansville Active Life Center, into a beautiful and bountiful garden. The garden, which was based on the principles of “permaculture,” sustainability and environmental stewardship, was led by Master Gardener Patrick Bexton.

In May, we also had participation from the Seniors at the Active Life Center, in a “Horticulture Therapy” project led by Pine Needle club member Leslie Bendell, a Horticulture Therapist, who facilitated the creation of a colorful outdoor potted flower arrangement for the Active Life Center. We also reached out to other organizations with similar interests and invited 4-H students to participate in the preparation of the design and planting. UGA 4-H was happy to have their students learn with this hand-on experience, and this opened the door for follow-up partnerships in community projects.

An “Open House” Ribbon Cutting event was held on June 21st, where community and city officials were invited to a reception celebrating the new outdoor garden space, which provides a beautiful park environment for the center, and the community. The central design of the garden was the Fibonacci spiral herb garden, created by club member Wanda Lowe, which was the first stage – and the very center – of the garden.