Fiskars Wants to Help Your Community Garden Grow

A couple years ago our Library Director decided that we needed some flowers out in front of the library. She got a local business to donate the plants, and she got a group of community residents together one Saturday morning. Together, they planted a beautiful flower garden in front of the library building. Now, instead of dirt and a few bushes, visitors to the library are greeted by colorful blooms. I don't think anyone realized what we were missing until we had it.

A community garden, whether to grow flowers or vegetables, is a great way to bring your community together. That's why Fiskars has created the Project Orange Thumb grant. They are going to award up to $1,500 in Fiskar's garden tools and up to $800.00 in gardening-related materials to 20 groups or organizations in the US and Canada. The grant is available to groups like schools, youth groups, clubs, and, I'm sure, libraries. You have to submit an application in two parts, an electronic submission to answer some questions about yourself and your organization, and a creative portion that can be about anything. You get to use pictures, words, video, whatever you can think of to help an alien understand how gardening makes you feel. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

So, if your group is interested in starting or maintaining your own garden, be sure to check out Fiskars Project Orange Thumb. The deadline for submitting your application is February 17, 2009 and recipients will be notified by March 25th.