Riverside Gardens came together to give each new household a geranium potted plant and a homemade welcome card for Mother’s Day. I started by putting up posters around the new neighbourhoods and included my email for interested people to contact me. After collecting over 65 responses, I went to our local neighbourhood flower nursery to buy an appropriate amount of red geraniums. During this time I also asked families with children within our complex, Riverside Gardens, to make welcome cards that could be given together with the plant.
When people came out to pick up their potted plant, they were welcomed to our beautiful neighbourhood and I mentioned that this event was sponsored by Neighbourhood Small Grants.
I was surprised that it was difficult to interact with the new neighbours in person when setting up. We had to contact the property manager and on-site caretaker when trying to put up posters and canvas door-to-door. Still, my favourite part was that by the end of the event, I ran out of plants because people that didn’t sign up were enthused and called more of their friends to come out. In the end, over 100 people came out. Goes to show how joy can spread like a wildfire!
I want to conclude with this anecdote from one of the new neighbours: “My mother, a passionate gardener passed away on Wednesday from complications related to covid. She loved red geraniums. In addition to being a gardener, she loved to write. The story was written 12 years ago and the geraniums are still going strong and yes they are 52 years old!” Here is the story link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z86Iv22kpelutJ_SQeuB1l_DDgCS3gMt/view?usp=sharing
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