For our Houseplant Hospital & Garden Gathering, 17 neighbours arrived with plants in hand or curiosity in mind, and we came away with a lot more than repotted pots.
Bronwen, Carly and I led the planning. I am still finding my green thumb, so I learned a lot from these two! Each of us brought chairs and tables, and we prepared simple repotting instructions. Carly and Bronwen were equipped with lived knowledge on so many different plants. We set up a “houseplant hospital” table for plants needing extra care, a seed and plant exchange table, and snacks and beverages. People could work with their hands or sit and mingle, whichever felt comfortable.
I enjoyed learning how the plants carried stories. It became a fun round of show and tell, with folks explaining where their plant came from. I brought an Oxalis from my grandma, who passed years ago. Tending it and sharing it with neighbours meant a lot to me. We also had jade propagations from Carly’s home to split and share, and others had plants from people who have since left the neighbourhood. There’s something special about touching a flower from a plant grown by someone who cares about you, or eating food that grew from a seedling they shared.
One elderly neighbour insisted she could never keep a plant alive, yet she still challenged herself to try something new and brought home a plant project. The format of the event also suited more introverted folks, who could say hello and then stay busy repotting, or just drop in for a minute.
We also set out a poster board for future event ideas, and neighbours filled it together: a soup potluck, harvest fest, street BBQ, corn boil, progressive dinner, berry swap, lawn games, a ping pong tournament and a house “crawl.”
The impact is clear within this neighbourhood. More neighbours joined our WhatsApp group, which strengthens how we could respond in an emergency and look out for one another. Increasingly, neighbours now water each other’s gardens while away and trade or give away extra fruit, berries and veg. We think the gathering may have helped inspire a block party in early September, an intergenerational gathering that included pickleball play.
We had very few challenges, since people came together so well. The hardest part was finding a day that worked around family, sports commitments, and religious gatherings. We also had more generously shared plants than homes for them, so we left extras on the front steps for neighbours to take in the following weeks.
It was beautiful to see this come together. The seed funding allowed us to start, and it helped us realize we could probably do this without funding too. We learned that a simple, hands-on activity is an easy way to build community, and we’re excited to keep trying new things together.
We are grateful for the NSG funding to inspire this action and plant a seed of bringing people together. We will continue to build a stronger neighbourhood through events, skill sharing, and of course, gifting garden goodies. 🙂
