In the garden
Free2Grow Garden Club
Florida native plants and herbs grown from seed and root, transplanting, composting, and garden wares made with the art program.
Chapter 01
Florida natives and herbs, from seed and root
Free2Grow Garden Club is the gardening program at ProjectFREE in Gulfport, Florida. Its focus is two kinds of plants: Florida natives and herbs, grown from seed and from root. Starting from seed is the slow way and the best teacher, because a member sees the whole cycle, from a dry seed in soil to a plant big enough to move. Starting from root gives a faster second route, and a working garden uses both.
Natives are a smart choice for Florida. They evolved with the local heat, sandy soil and summer rain, so once established they usually need less fuss than imports, and they feed local pollinators and birds. Herbs are the practical partner: leaves you can touch, smell and, in time, use. Together they make a garden that teaches patience and rewards it, which suits a program built around skill development.
Herb seedlings in a tray and terracotta pots on a wooden table beside a heap of soil
Transplanting and composting
A seedling in a tray is not finished. At some point it has to move to a pot or a bed, and transplanting is a craft with small rules: water first, loosen the roots gently, set the plant at the right depth, firm the soil around it, and water again. It is hands-on, steady work, and each plant is a small task a person can see through from start to finish.
Composting closes the loop. Plant trimmings and scraps go into a pile, time and moisture do their work, and the result is dark soil for the next round of seedlings. It is one of the clearest lessons a garden offers: nothing is wasted, and today's pile becomes tomorrow's soil. ProjectFREE has not published a growing schedule or plot details for the club, so call the 51st Street South office at (727) 603-0595 to ask what is growing now.
Chapter 03
Garden wares, made with the art program
The club has a second job that links to the art studios. Functional garden wares are made alongside the art program at ProjectFREE. Functional is the key word: things that do a job in a garden, not only things to look at. Ceramics is one of the seven disciplines in Gallery & Studios, and a pot is the obvious place where clay and plants meet, though ProjectFREE has not listed which wares it makes.
Artists in the gallery keep 100% of their sales, and ProjectFREE describes itself as a means of expression, development and self-employment. Garden wares fit that frame, as work that is both useful and made by hand. No shop, price or market date for them has been published, so none is promised here. If a program that mixes growing and making sounds right for you or someone you love, call and ask how to join.
Florida natives and herbs, grown from seed and root, with garden wares made alongside the art program.