Youth Gardening Club Begins to Bloom

It may not be the clamoring group of 30 kids that might have been, but the Youth Gardening Club at the Garden Club of St. Petersburg still plans to make a big impact among it’s young growers.

Garden Club members Sandee Doherty and Sally Farr want to extend their knowledge to a younger generation, and this is the year they get the chance.

“Young people are our future, and our future gardeners,” youth coordinator Doherty said. “Hopefully in doing these sorts of things they will continue to garden, host community gardens, and just know where their food is coming from.”

Beginning Sunday, January, 31 from 1 to 3:30 p.m., the group will host seven kids, ages seven to 12, each month until May.

“We’re outdoors, of course, limiting the number of kids, making sure there is enough space in the garden,” Farr, chairman of Youth Programming said. “Hopefully by this time next year it can be even bigger and better.”

The group will meet in the Coconut Park at the Garden Club of St. Petersburg, 500 Sunset Drive S.

The space, allotted by the garden club, is a butterfly garden. In a little over five months it will be overflowing with pollinator-attracting plants, hence the theme “Garden Helpers.”

“Even though it’s a smaller group, the kids involved are going to be a part of something very special,” Doherty said.

Farr and Doherty originally started their quest to educate young gardeners in January of last year, but with the pandemic, it was stopped after just two meetings.

This year, with more information and a widespread vaccine around the corner, the club will grow in a tiny corner of St. Petersburg, safely.

The Youth Gardening Club at the Garden Club of St Petersburg is opening their circle to a small group of kids on Sunday, January 31. The group began last year but was quickly canceled due to the pandemic.

Sandee Doherty