Garden Grants are made possible by National Garden Bureau and our members, American Meadows, Corona Tools, and Sakata Seed America.
National Garden Bureau promotes the health and healing powers of human interaction with plants through a yearly grant program for therapeutic gardens. Sakata Seed America is a leader in breeding vegetable and ornamental seed and vegetative cuttings. They are committed to supporting organizations throughout North America to help people live productive, healthy, and enriched lives. American Meadows says “We Do Good Through Gardening.” Their primary focus is to be great at providing home gardeners with the products and knowledge they need to succeed. They seek to be a trusted gardening partner for creative gardeners —those who are willing to combine new ideas and products with classic favorites. Founded in the 1920s, Corona, Inc. is a leader in the marketing and manufacturing of professional and consumer tools for the lawn and garden, landscape, irrigation, construction, and agriculture markets.
Program Criteria
Each year, the National Garden Bureau selects three established (meaning at least one year of programming experience) therapeutic gardens to be the recipients of a grant that will help expand or perpetuate that therapeutic garden. Those gardens will then compete via social media, for a first, second, and third-place prize for a financial contribution to their garden. Those three gardens will also receive a set of Corona Gardening Tools. The deadline for application is July 1.
Gardens applying must meet these criteria for therapeutic goals/qualities:
- Have a defined therapeutic program, with a Registered Horticultural Therapist on staff or serving as an advisor, that uses the garden to achieve outlined goals for participants. Examples include horticultural therapy, occupational, physical, vocational, or rehabilitation therapy in a garden setting, or using gardening to promote positive social relationships within a community.
- Offer a gardening experience where there is significant people and plant interaction for the population served
- Be used for job training, skill-building, food growing, socialization skills, improved quality of life, stress reduction, environmental education, or any other possibility that can be gained by working in nature.
- Involve a significant number of gardeners, clients, patients, visitors, or students on a monthly basis.
Who Is Eligible to Apply?
Schools, non-profits, hospitals, retirement centers, rehabilitation facilities, veteran’s facilities, community centers, day camps, treatment facilities, and inter-generational groups throughout the United States and Canada are eligible. Applicants must document that they have had a therapeutic garden program completed for at least one year at the time of application with at least a five-year commitment for the garden to remain on that property.
Funding
$5,000 is available and will be divided among the gardens chosen, with graduated amounts going to the first, second, and third place contestants.
First place award: $3,000
Second place award: $1,000
Third place award: $1,000
The grants are co-funded by National Garden Bureau, Sakata Seed America, and American Meadows.
Submission Process
July 1, 2022 – Applications due
August 8-13, 2022 – Three gardens selected from all applications and are notified
August 31, 2022 – Final one-minute videos must be submitted
September 15, 2022 – Videos are published and voting begins
September 30, 2022 – Voting concludes
October 6, 2022 – Votes are tallied and winners notified
October 15, 2022 – Grants awarded
Garden Grant Application
Applications must include:
- A picture (or pictures… but no more than five) of the garden. Please provide high res photos in a .jpg format, between 1-2 MB in size.
- Please label photos in this manner: Garden/program name then 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. No other description is needed for the photo name.
- A description of the population the garden serves
- An explanation of the garden’s goal and benefits
- A list of the type and number of people the garden reaches on a monthly basis
- A plan for how the funds will be used