I’m interested in volunteering at the garden. How can I get involved?
From spring to summer, we host drop-in Garden Hours for volunteers every Thursday from 3pm to 6pm and every Saturday from 9am to 12pm. From fall to winter, Thursday Garden Hours are shortened – from 3-5pm. You are welcome to come to those as you like, no scheduling required. For our volunteer hours, we ask that all volunteers fill out a waiver upon arrival on their first day. If you are a minor, or intend to bring a minor we ask that the parent or guardian be present to fill out the waiver on your/their behalf. We also ask that you wear weather appropriate clothing and shoes that you don't mind getting dirty! And please bring a water bottle or drink of your choice.
If Garden Hours are canceled due to inclement weather, we will announce the cancellation on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
If you have any other questions or to receive a weekly overview of plans for the upcoming Garden Hours please contact our Head Gardener at:
I’m interested in doing community service hours. Is that something you offer, and how can I get involved?
Voluntery and court ordered community service is a case-by-case basis. Please email [email protected] for more information.
I’m interested in volunteering with your youth programs. How can I get involved? Our youth programs are currently at capacity and are not accepting additional volunteers and interns. If you are interested in volunteering with Downtown Greens in a different, but equally important, capacity, we encourage you to join us for weekly Garden Hours. Alternatively, if you are looking to make an impact directly with our youth programming, Downtown Greens has a Garden Education Wishlist on Amazon. Anything on this list would be greatly appreciated and make a positive impact.
Garden Use
I’d like to rent out your garden for an event. How can I do that?
The garden is open to the public from sunrise to sunset, 365 days per year. Groups are welcome to gather freely in the garden with the understanding that we will not be able to provide staff support, access to equipment or bathroom facilities. We also ask that groups pack out any trash immediately following the gathering.
At the moment, we don't have the capacity to rent out the garden for events; however, we are working on making the garden available to rent out in the future, so check back for updates!
Do you offer individual garden plots for community members to rent?
Downtown Greens is a 2.8 acre park-like space that is open to the public sunrise to sunset every day of the year. We have several gardens, including education gardens for youth garden-based programs and a Take What You Need garden that community members can harvest from themselves.
Unfortunately, we do not offer individual garden plots for community members to rent. We recommend that you look into Cossey Park or Bragg Hill Garden, which offer a limited number of individual garden plots to community members. If you’re looking for garden time, we also invite you to join us for weekly Garden Hours.
Youth programs
I’d like to know more about the different youth programs you offer:
Youth Farm Program Our Youth Farm Program is a free youth program for rising third through fifth graders in the neighboring Hazel Hill neighborhood and Virginia Housing Coalition apartment complex. The program teaches children how to grow their own food, take care of a garden, different foods you can make with grown fruits and vegetables, and some of the science behind gardening. On top of this, the children also get to make garden related crafts and spend time in community with each other and the educators. For more information, contact our Education Coordinator at [email protected].
services
I have a bee question/need a bee service. Can you help?
While we do have bees onsite, we do not offer bee services or consultation.
Can your team provide gardening services for my personal garden/organization?
We do not offer outside gardening services. If you’d like to learn more about gardening, you are able to join us for weekly Garden Hours in which we discuss and practice hands-on gardening methods that you can apply to your own yard and garden.
donations
Can I donate pots and garden decor?
We are unable to accept any used garden decor, as they can carry invisible-to-the-eye plant diseases and pests. As you can imagine, we need to avoid bringing these into our garden! We do appreciate you considering us for this donation and if you’d like to help out, you are able to donate to our operating expenses or native plant fund through our website:http://www.downtowngreens.org/ways-to-donate.html#/or our paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=R3ALW8N6CJ3KW
We are accepting some terracotta/clay/concrete pots depending on quality and age. If you have any in good condition that you’re looking to rehome, please contact our Head Gardener at[email protected]
Can I donate tools or equipment?
At this time we are only accepting tools that are lightly used/like-new. We have come to find that rusty blades/spades, broken handles, and repaired items have cost us too much in maintenance resources. We are unable to accept any items that may need repairing or refurbishment but we do appreciate your consideration. If you are unsure of how to dispose of the item, R-Board Stafford offers several services for recycling and proper disposal of equipment with small engines, metal, and other materials. You can refer to that here: http://r-board.org/frequently-asked-questions/
To make sure we are able to accept your item and coordinate drop-off, please contact our Head Gardener at [email protected]
Can I donate plants?
At this time we are only able to accept smaller, herbaceous perennial native plants (no shrubs or trees.) If you have any questions on what may be a native plant, here are some resources that may help you determine whether this plant is native or not: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/nativeplants
This website provides common name and scientific name, and the PDF’s are assorted by region. Our region is special and plants here can fall under Piedmont, Grasslands, and even Coastal. If you are having trouble identifying a plant and need help, you can contact our Head gardener at [email protected] and they may be able to help identify your plant with enough pictures and information.
To make sure we are able to accept your donation and coordinate drop-off, please contact our Head Gardener at [email protected]
compost
Can I drop off compost at the garden?
We recently installed a new compost system in our Upper Garden and are accepting compost. Please limit donations to 1 gallon, or what you can fit in a milk container, and make sure any material or scraps are small enough to break down quickly in the system. Acceptable materials that can be added to the compost system are: vegetable and fruit scraps, egg shells, avocado skins, scraps of cardboard with minimal ink on it, dry leaves, and coffee grounds and filters. Please do not compost any avocado pits, pistachio shells, meat, dairy, salted or processed foods, glass, plastic, compostable plastic or bags, large cardboard boxes, or pet waste. Please cover any fresh food scraps with some leaves or grass available in the black bin next to the compost to avoid flies and other pests.
The compost system is located in our Upper Garden at the corner of Charles and Dixon Street, across from our offices at 206 Charles Street, Fredericksburg VA 22401. If you have any questions, please contact our Head Gardener at [email protected]