About our Garden Team
What we do
The Unity Garden Team maintains the flower gardens surrounding our church buildings providing a platform in which appreciation of nature’s beauty and divine spirit can be shared.
How you can help
The Unity Garden Team has a variety of opportunities in which volunteers are welcome and no experience is needed: Participate in one, two or all the opportunities available.
- The Adopt a Garden Program is a vital part of maintaining the gardens and involves individuals “adopting” one of Unity’s individual flower gardens for one growing season.
- Participating in the Spring and Fall Garden Clean Ups occurring one Saturday morning in May and Oct respectively.
- Participating in our spring garden fund raiser as a volunteer selling gift cards or as a buyer. This program allows the Unity Garden Team to receive 25% back in cash from the sales of gift cards from America’s Best Garden Center. The funds received are used to maintain the gardens. The purchaser gets the full value of the gift card bought which can be used at any time.
- CLICK HERE for a detailed description of garden duties.
Adopt a Garden
CLICK HERE to see a diagram of our Unity Gardens
As previously stated, the “Adopt a Garden Program” is a vital and necessary component of maintaining the Unity Gardens. NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!
- This is a fun group that provides lots of flexibility, a limited time commitment (one season May to Oct) while providing the volunteer with a unique opportunity to directly impact the beauty of the Unity property and in turn the surrounding communities.
- Volunteer and share the beauty of the divine nature of the gardens!!! We would love to have you.
- The gardens have been divided into 8 individual areas based on size and amount of maintenance.
- An individual/or team of two who adopts a garden is oriented to their garden with the Garden Team leader, who remains a resource for this individual. Each member of the garden team is also available for support; fill in during vacations of more than one week as well as any other needs that may arise.
- The amount of time that an individual would likely devote to this volunteer activity is based on the garden space chosen. There are different types of gardens requiring different amounts of time and energy to be maintained. Every effort will be made to provide the right match based on the preferences of the volunteer.
- The major job involved in adopting a garden is to maintain the garden by weeding, dead heading and watering as needed. This means that the adopted garden should be checked weekly from May to October. The time and day of the week is to work is totally up to the individual, making this a very flexible opportunity to volunteer. Again, no experience is required and all training needed is provided.
- All Garden Team members have access to the gardening tools (hand tools, watering cans, etc.) and equipment (wheel barrows, shovels, rakes, debris barrels, etc.) located in a tool shed on the Unity property. In an attempt to further make this volunteer activity simple and enjoyable, all garden debris is placed in the tool shed. The Garden Team Leader is responsible for disposing of this material on a regular basis.
- There are two garden clean ups yearly occurring in May and October and are half-day work groups focusing on the flower gardens. The dates and times are posted at least one month ahead of the scheduled time.
- All planting is done during the Spring Clean Up as directed by the Garden Team Leader. The Unity Garden Team has worked very hard in the last several years to maintain the gardens through a master plan that will ensure that the gardens are manageable for years to come. This is an ongoing process coordinated by the Garden Team Leader.
- The end of the year for the Garden Team is celebrated with a potluck at the Fall Clean Up.
The Spring Clean Up (NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY) involves:
- Cleaning up debris from the gardens
- Planting annuals
- Replacing perennials that did not survive the winter
- Dividing existing perennial plants and transplanting as needed
- Mulching
- Bringing out benches
- Hooking up hoses
- Putting up lattices
The Fall Clean Up (NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY) involves:
- Cutting down the garden vegetation and removing annuals
- Cleaning up debris from the gardens and loading this into a truck
- Planting bulbs
- Mulching
- Bringing in benches
- Putting hoses away
- Taking away the lattices where needed
For more information please contact the Church Office at 608-221-1376
THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!