Hope in Bloom
If you haven't heard of Hope in Bloom (and a lot of my friends and acquaintances haven't), please do spread the news, because it should be a nation-wide movement. All of us who are designers know that gardens give hope and a healing boost to many of those who are ill, no matter what the disease.
Hope in Bloom was started by Roberta Hershon after a close friend of hers died of breast cancer. The program aims to improve the spirits and brighten the lives of women and men who suffer from the disease by giving them a garden, free of charge. Landscape designers and landscape architects are recruited to design the gardens free of charge, and volunteers install them. Hope in Bloom provides the hardscape materials and plants via tax deductible donations from individuals and corporations.
Since the program was started in 2007, Hope in Bloom has installed nearly 100 gardens around the state of Massachusetts, raising awareness about the positive effects that gardens can bring to those who are suffering from deadly diseases. If you're interested in bringing the program to your state, contact Hope in Bloom directly. Two close friends of mine have died from the disease, and one was a lifelong gardener whose amateur front-yard efforts in her tiny Capitol Hill garden in DC were enjoyed by neighbors from blocks around. Wish I could've planted a special garden for her, or kept her garden going.
(photo: Hope in Bloom)
sounds like a great program. I will follow up to see if it exists in my home state of Georgia. Thanks.
Posted by: Erica Glasener | February 11, 2011 at 07:55 AM