GARDEN MINISTRY
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.
To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.”
– Alfred Austin
Our Gardens
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In the Spring of 2016 known NMCC private gardeners were invited to adopt, design, plant and care for one of the many Church grounds. Today, we have 8 gardens and a special tree, Steve, with its own story for Circle Nursery School.
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Circle Nursery School shares the joy our gardens bring to both staff and students. Both Staff and students enjoy the plants growing in the gardens. Steve is the biggest player for the 3’s and 4’s classes. The 5’s have enjoyed checking out the vegetable garden in the upper parking lot in early September and also the tall grasses that are planted on the embankment behind the building. All three classes take regular nature walks around the church property, so they enjoy whatever is blooming then. Tour Our Gardens
Tuesdays in the Garden
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In March 2020 our Deacons launched this Tuesdays in the Garden resulting in 32 recordings by NMCC gardeners on a variety of how-to tips or simply sharing the love of their garden and the gardening experience. What better way to keep busy, safe and connected to the earth that supports us than working in the garden? Each Tuesday, we invite you to take a stroll with one of our gardeners as they share their expertise, bounty and blooms through short videos posted here. We learned about composting, salad gardens, hydrangeas, dividing perennials, transplanting, invasive species and so much more. Tuesdays in the Garden - YouTube
Garden Rescue Team
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In the April of 2020, following a 2-year effort to restore their home because of a major house fire, the Clemmons family found the prospect of restoring their gardens to be overwhelming. Upon learning of their plight several NMCC gardeners, almost all also in the choir, offered to help rake, prune, weed and a clean out their gardens with them. It took several visits and we learned 90 minutes of work per visit worked for us – and with 6 of us and the family, we could accomplish a lot. What a boost for the family and gardens began to look like they should. This led to another garden rescue of 3 other NMCC families. Since the Fall of 2021 when the volunteer coordinate at Columbus House came to our Garden Tour, we’ve also been involved in the rescue of 4 gardens on Columbus House properties around New Haven, along with maintaining all of our NMCC gardens.
Goodness Grows Garden Tour and Plant Sale
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Why not take our love of gardening to our community? Tuesdays in the Garden gave us an idea. Since we found such meaningful inspiration and salvation in our own gardens, why not open them up for everyone to see them in real time, in person in 2021? Those same gardens that fed us all during the spring and summer of 2020 evolved into the Goodness Grows, Garden Walks to nourish the soul - a garden tour!” In January 2021 a new team was formed to create a garden tour of 7 gardens in Madison and Guilford, along with a plant sale at NMCC. Those same gardens that fed us all during the spring and summer of 2020 evolved into the Goodness Grows, Garden Walks to nourish the soul - a garden tour!” Turnout that rainy/overcast June day was amazing – the combination of being able to get out and see and visit with other people as Covid restrictions eased and enjoy the beauty so lovingly shared by our gardeners, both in and from their gardens as well on the tour and at the plant sale. Goodness Grows GardenFest became our theme in 2022, a plant sale in late May at NMCC with an educational focus and a range of gardening topics and vendors with other items for sale. Our Goodness Grows Plant and Community Tag Sale in early May 2023 brought in a recycling theme to our now annual Plant sale with 20 tag sale vendors.