Join The Million Gardens Movement

join the movement

mgm

Grow A Garden

plants to grants

Million Gardens Movement is a community of gardeners who want to inspire a happier and healthier world by educating and supporting millions of new gardeners to grow their own food.

NEW GARDENS

Learning Gardens in Schools

Garden Kits Given Away

Gardeners Signed up to the Movement

Starting a garden is easy & delicious

HOW TO GUIDES

Smart Gardening

SOCIAL IMPACT

The 8 Benefits of Growing Your Food and Gardening

Growing a garden is easy – in your backyard, on a fire
escape or on your windowsill

Join the movement and learn how to grow and cook delicious vegetables with our garden guides, resources, and recipes.

Make a donation after you register to give a garden to a family in need, and get a limited edition Million Gardens Movement bracelet!

Grow a Garden

Partners for
a great cause

From financial contributions and product donations, to getting their hands in the dirt, our dedicated corporate and community partners, and passionate volunteers (just like you?) are making a difference on the ground – and in the garden – every day.

Learn More

plant a seed blog

Dig Into More Articles

HOW TO GUIDES,OUR GARDENERS

Mulch Ado About Nothing

HOW TO GUIDES

Smart Gardening

SOCIAL IMPACT

The 8 Benefits of Growing Your Food and Gardening

Dig Into More Articles

Flaunt your fruits & veggies

Follow @milliongardensmovement

It’s #NationalGardeningDay, so we’re giving a

It’s #NationalGardeningDay, so we’re giving a shout out to all the current and future Million Gardens Movement members - keep on planting! 💚💚💚

We are excited to announce that Million Gardens Mo

We are excited to announce that Million Gardens Movement has come to Canada!

In celebration of #plantaseedday we will be offering Grow Grants of up to $7500!

Find out more by visiting this link: https://MAILCHI.MP/D3C5F7A7BACA/MGM-CANADA-GROW-GRANTS

#growfood #vancouver #fraservalley #vegetablegarden

We’re so excited our friends @ferrymorseseed are

We’re so excited our friends @ferrymorseseed are hosting their first annual Garden Get-Together this Sunday, 3/20 on Facebook Live! Tune in on the Ferry-Morse Facebook page for demos and tips on all things gardening to celebrate the first day of spring and Plant a Seed Day. We're so excited that Ferry-Morse will be making a generous donation to support the Million Gardens Movement in honor of #plantaseedday

Our friends at @biggreen have launched a beautiful

Our friends at @biggreen have launched a beautiful new project that turns philanthropy on its head and puts granting in the hands of proven social and food justice activists. Wande Okunoren-Meadows is one of six committee members who will help launch a new chapter in charitable giving through the Big Green DAO.

@handheartandsoulproject #biggreendao #foodjustice #communityknowswhatcommunityneeds #socialjustice

There are so many amazing black gardeners, farmers

There are so many amazing black gardeners, farmers, and black-led organizations to follow - here are just a few. But give us more! Tell us who else to follow in the comments.

@soulfirefarm
@ronfinleyhq
@handheartsoulproject
@sirilorece
@the.mocha.gardener
@melbelle206
@blackgirlswithgardens
@blackmenwithgardens

#blackhistorymonth
#blackhistory
#bhm
#foodjustice

Today we celebrate the beginning of Black History

Today we celebrate the beginning of Black History Month. We celebrate the amazing contributions that black farmers and gardeners have made to our food systems. We acknowledge the injustices - past and present - that they have faced. And we commit to growing a just future together.

George Washington Carver is one of the most influential American agricultural scientists – a pioneer of organic farming techniques, an early environmentalist, and a champion for black farmers and southern agriculture.

#blackhistorymonth
#blackhistory
#bhm
#foodjustice

We've been loving your 2022 predictions and moodbo

We've been loving your 2022 predictions and moodboards, so we made a #MillionGardens one! Did we miss any big trends, plants, or fruits you think we should add? Let us know in the comments and maybe we'll add our favorites to what's IN and OUT! #gardening #2022 #freshfood

It's a new year to build plans, gardens, and colla

It's a new year to build plans, gardens, and collaborations! We'd love to hear from other gardeners and gardening organizations on your partner's page, available here:

https://milliongardensmovement.org/partners/

Our contest closes tomorrow! You can win a garden

Our contest closes tomorrow! You can win a garden consultation from wonderful permaculture designer Laura Marie Neubert (and seed care packages!): to enter, submit photos/descriptions of your garden at our link in bio, no purchase required. The garden most deserving of a redesign wins! 💚🌱🍓♻️💚

https://open.spotify.com/track/39bOGUHhone0V0EvEYG9zF?si=-q1qmMZbQxifNCoI-EMSDQ&utm_source=copy-link

It's going to be a good year for your garden: it w

It's going to be a good year for your garden: it will be bountiful not only in its harvest, but its benefits for your stress, anxiety, exercise, community-building, and hope.

That's a promise we're going to fight for here at the Movement. Are you ready for what we have planned?

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Merry Christmas from the Million Gardens Movement!

Merry Christmas from the Million Gardens Movement! On Plant a Seed Day last March, thousands of you joined us in starting a garden, tree, or propagation project that might have yielded fruit you can gift and eat today. From kumquats, cranberries, and celeriac, there’s still plenty of winter crops coming in and rewards for our months of hard work, even if that’s just the stories we can tell around the tree. Sometimes, those stories have funny endings, or unlikely victories, but most importantly have lessons learnt for 2022. Here are some of our gifts for others or ourselves this Christmas from Laura, Frank, and Pearse at the Million Gardens Movement. Have you gotten a great gardening gift you're excited to use? Tell us about it! 2022 is going to be tasty, both for all of us and for the worms we feed with our compost!

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

It’s the final day of our countdown towards Chri

It’s the final day of our countdown towards Christmas and teaching you about urban permaculture principles to use in your garden: today, let’s discuss 12 drummers drumming and how to creatively respond to change. Because let’s face it: your garden is going to change. Usually via natural systems, sometimes societal or personal forces. But if you don’t use and benefit from that change, you’re going to be left in the dust. Take these 12 drummers we celebrate today: how must they feel if suddenly the leader of their band starts jazz improv with a different beat? Confused, betrayed, sure, but they’ll have to make a switch soon to stay on-beat or they won’t be part of the band. In your garden, this “band leader” can be the atmosphere, with sudden stormy seasons or tornados like those we’ve seen across the United States this month. Or the “band leader” could be new philosophies and techniques about gardening, such as expansions or reinterpretations of permaculture: if those help your garden more, better follow their beat. Maybe the “band leader” is your city’s government, authorizing new urban gardens or backyard chicken coops. Time to jump in and get growing, balancing stability with change in ways that your garden can survive and thrive in. That’s the benefit of having a dynamic garden and feeling in control of your garden systems, even if you aren’t tinkering with them daily—when change does present itself, you can jump into the music and take your growing experience in a new direction. How can your garden use adaptive change to uplift itself, rather than see that change as threatening?

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Any Movement members big fans of pipers piping? An

Any Movement members big fans of pipers piping? Anyone get “piped piper” in their top musicians they streamed in 2021? No? Yeah, that’s the thing about the 11th day of Christmas—but that doesn’t mean gardeners should discount the genre. As the 11th principle of urban permaculture teaches us, we must use edges and value the marginal. Sure, what’s now called “early music” doesn’t always work for garden parties, but you never know when it’ll help: remember the boom this time last year of sea shanties we, mid-pandemic, saw the value in the near-forgotten tunes of isolated sailors? Or what about the original pied piper, who led the rats away from the towns of yore to allow them to keep gardening?! The place where one genre or environment ends and another begins can be the most fruitful, full of dynamic and productive parts of natural systems you might never expect to exist. Never disregard an abandoned shed on your outlying property, the bioswale at the sidewalk across from your raised bed, or the parts of your garden that creep into your kitchen: those forgotten zones are worth your time and exploration, applying some of the earlier principles and skills we’ve taught you about throughout the last two weeks. You never know if you’ll find the next “hit song” whether that’s a birdcall or a juicy tomato plant who didn’t even mean to nurture.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

If you've enjoyed many inspirational columns from

If you've enjoyed many inspirational columns from our contributor @upfrontandbeautiful , now’s a great chance to put that permaculture inspo to the test with this contest (link in bio!). The Million Gardens Movement and Neubert will be awarding a permaculture consultation to one Movement member whose garden really needs some TLC: just submit a description/photos of your garden at the link in our biography, no purchase required. We're so excited to hear about your grow plans and award runners-up some seed care packages. Sign up before the January 8th close of the contest.

https://milliongardensmovement.org/garden-makeover/

One of our favorite parts of fantasy books is read

One of our favorite parts of fantasy books is reading the appendices full of many lords and nobles: masters of coin, lord admirals, spycraft lords and justiciar, to name a few. These diverse and creative occupations get us nearly as excited as garden diversity does. For the 10th day of Christmas, let’s look at the 10th principle of urban permaculture: use and value diversity. Instead of monocultures where one plant is overplanted and chokes out all others, look to fantasy appendices or Christmas carols as inspiration for grand, royal polyculture that your household can sport! Urban permaculture is centered in resilience, and that means that “polycultures” with dozens or hundreds of species have a better chance of surviving and flourishing: a wind can stamp out a field of tall corn, but not a slope of trees, bushes, grasses, lichens, and critter homes to name just a few! The same value of diversity can be seen in swath of possible DNA, disease resistances, flavors they’ll add to your menu, and color, smells, and textures your garden will now have. If you think a fantasy world is magical, get planting a kiwi, leek, and bay leaf tree and you’ll see how magical gardening is!

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

The more complex the dance move, the bigger the ho

The more complex the dance move, the bigger the hop and jump: the less graceful and more dangerous the fall can be. This isn’t just true for these ladies dancing, but any part of your garden’s ecosystem: the removal of a key species can cause what’s called a “cascade effect” with danger and resource depletion hitting species after species after species, like dominoes falling. Fast and sudden movements can hurt, and as designers of our garden spaces we can learn from the 9th principle of urban permaculture: use small and slow solutions. As David Holmgren writes, “backlash against the extreme mobility and speed in affluent countries has led to movements such as ‘Slow Food’ and ‘Slow Cities’”—the opposite of what you might see in fast food or overly connected, electronic cities. How can you turn your space into a “Slow Garden” that can foster “Slow Food” inside of a “Slow City?” Think to a dance metaphor, and how dancers can build on past momentum while staying settled: your garden can use slow-growing aspects like fruit trees, slow-release fertilizers like manure, small-scale windmills, shades, or mounts that you can erect today rather than purchase and worry about setting up tomorrow. The general proverb of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” is a warning, not a garden lifestyle to aspire to!

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

We love this view of swans a-swimming for the shap

We love this view of swans a-swimming for the shape we see in their animal patterns: love, in this case. Although selflessness and solidarity can be seen across the natural world, we’d like to think that there is even more love out there that we can’t see, especially in the garden. It might just be called “mutualism” or “commensalism” but is rooted in two species working together in unexpected ways for unexpected benefits. For this day towards Christmas, we want to emphasize urban permaculture principle #8: integrate rather than segregate! We know that plants can help each other grow better when planted beside each other, or ruminant animals whose movement helps develop better pastureland and prairie, or pets that weed rather than destroy your favorite crop (we hope)! There are billions of examples of species working together each day, and your garden can include these from the microbiomes of soil all the way up to the human relationships that can be integrated into the garden as you use the space for community gathering, education, and bonding rather than a segregated area solely for food production. Maybe the end result will have an unexpected sign, just like these swans, that there’s more love in the world than you thought possible!

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Did you know there’s 22 different versions of th

Did you know there’s 22 different versions of the 12 Days of Christmas, each with different lyrics? That’s how we’re going to explain away our mistake of putting Milks a-milking before Geese a-laying! Anyway, onto MORE birds! As Holmgren notes, we’ve entered the teaching of permaculture principles that “emphasise the patterns and relationships that emerge through system self-organisation and co-evolution,” starting with the 7th principle: design from patterns to details. Think about these geese migrating south: don’t they move using a simple pattern blown-up on a large scale, or a chevron or “V” shape? These birds have a deep-seated knowledge of the best aerodynamic shapes, and we’d be mistaken to not recognize this biological pattern and plan other parts of our home and garden around it: weathervanes, garden shed roofing, rain catchment basins, to name a few. Sometimes the closer we get, the harder it is for us to understand the patterning that makes an ecosystem possible. So watch your garden from a distance to look at the shapes of stalks, the shadows they create, the web of life inside your space, and then compare it to a less managed landscape. Are there patterns in nature you can implement in your garden?

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

We’re halfway to Christmas Eve, and because it’s the sixth day it’s time to talk about the sixth urban permaculture principle: produce no waste. I mean, take a look at the milk these maids harvest each day. Milk can become anything: it's one of those farm resources that's endlessly useful and easy to disguise. Without milk you wouldn't have herbed butters, soft cheeses, family friendly ice creams, probiotic kefir, or the easy-to-transport meal of aaruul. When one form of milk can't be used, it's switched into something else: the butter can make an herbed shortbread, which can be crushed into an ice cream, which can top an ice cream sandwich with milk bread! Such has been tradition for millennia for those who work the land, and should be a goal for any Movement member, no matter their skill. Of course, the last bastion of reusing an object can always be composting it! But there's plenty of ways to reuse and reduce before you open your worm bin, from preserving to drying to partying! You can visit the link in our bio for some inspo from us.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

If you’re running around buying holiday gifts th

If you’re running around buying holiday gifts this week, don’t consider the five golden rings that the fifth day of Christmas is gaudily associated with: instead, look to your garden and the fifth urban permaculture principle: Use and value renewable resources and services. What does that mean? Well, essentially to rely on parts of your garden ecosystem that can regrow or don’t need to be consumed, whether that’s a service like lovely shade underneath our pear tree (see Day 1, with the partridge) or a resource like a medicinal bundle from our garden’s herb spiral. Not only do these renewables help reduced consumption, they connect us into a deeper understanding of our ecosystem and built environment. Instead of a piece of jewelry, why not using herbal gifts to teach yourself and the recipient about indigenous and introduced medicinal plants? If you repot a pear tree for your friends’ apartment, why not discuss why they don’t have shadetrees already in their neighborhood? (Often, the answer is rooted in racist urban planning). Permaculture doesn’t end at recognizing renewable resources, but also changing the system to become more sustainable and nurturing of itself. How would a golden ring do that?

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

We’re a third of the way to Christmas eve, and t

We’re a third of the way to Christmas eve, and that means today we’ll be discussing one of the strangest parts of the 12 Days of Christmas carol: four collie birds. What are collie birds? Well, they’re just blackbirds: “collie” comes from the “coaly” description, like a blackbird looks coal-dusted. Now, blackbirds are one of the most garden-loving birds out there, so you two would have many things to talk about! The British Trust of Ornithology reported that half of the gardens they watched in 2019 had nesting blackbirds, with 90% of them using the garden’ berris and invertebrates as a food source—this is another reason that the permaculture principle of “obtain a yield” is so important, so that your garden can be a stopover or home for hungry others! But these four collie birds also help us understand urban permaculture principle #4: apply self-regulation and feedback. Unrestricted growth or yield always has a tipping point where it becomes no longer a blessing, but a curse. Take Midas and his golden touch, kudzu’s fast-growing vines, or flocks of blackbirds who have nested so deeply in your garden that you can’t use the ladder, open a gate, or remove a tool without distributing a nest. Thankfully, this is unlikely to happen if the ecosystem contains predators like raccoons, weasels, and snakes who eat blackbirds and, themselves, feed the berry bushes birds eat with their droppings and decay. A “negative feedback loop” where an ecosystem recognizes the overgrowth of one variable and adjusts accordingly to contain it is the only way we’re able to see old growth forests and long-tended gardens. If your garden doesn’t have a complete ecosystem yet or has trouble regulating itself, that’s where you can step in as a weeder, culler, or mover. You’d be a great gardener and corrector of garden missteps, whether that’s a difficult blackbird nest or a lack of rainwater capture. Weeder can seem to be “working against nature,” but it’s often what nature requests we do!

Where are we in the 12 Days of Christmas? “On th

Where are we in the 12 Days of Christmas? “On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.” Ah yes, all birds! But French hens (see here in their little French outfits) are a perfect example of the third principle of urban permaculture: obtain a yield. Why does anyone keep laying hens, like these three French birds? Maybe it’s so that they can teach their community about the power of animal husbandry, or so they can breed heritage hen varieties, or because the animals keep natural pests down! But one reason supersedes all of those: the hens produce eggs. You’re able to obtain a yield, and feed yourself today, or sell them tomorrow, through that simple fact. Although obtaining a yield can feel like simplifying your garden or farm, it’s a great way to help maintain or replicate your gardening system! The more people who can see their garden giving them fruits, nuts, flowers, and friends are more likely to start more gardens and bring others into this world. Of course, we do not garden solely for resource extraction: that’s one reason why this permaculture principle is third, underneath catch and storing energy and observing nature to see if I can handle any form of extraction, like picking eggs or eggplants. And as you’ll see later, another central tenet is that any harvest we have use all of whatever take: from root to leaf, snout to tail.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

If you’re giving a present to a special gardener

If you’re giving a present to a special gardener in your life this holiday season, why not pair it with a donation to our Movement? It feels amazing not just to be supporting your friends’ and family’s gardens with new tools, seeds, and time, but to combine those gardening skills with a donation of any size that will help gardeners you’ll never meet—or push someone on the fence about gardening to starting their own food forest or windowsill grow box! Visit the link in bio to give; we’ll be back with our regularly scheduled 12 Days of Christmas later today.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

The second day of Christmas is associated with two

The second day of Christmas is associated with two turtle doves, but we have a question for Movement members: have you ever seen one of these birds, much less two? You can’t quite blame your lack of observational skills—there’s a sadder reason why. Since the 1970s, the European turtle dove population has decreased by 85% in Western Europe, with a startling 97% decline in the Netherlands according to ornithologist Jennifer Vreugdenhil-Rowlands! As a species threatened by global extinction, there’s the distinct possibility that our children will grow up not only knowing what a turtle dove is, but have no opportunity to see one themselves. How does this relate to the second principle of urban permaculture, to Catch and Store Energy? Well, permaculture theorist David Holmgren writes that catching + storing energy is about “the need and opportunity take advantage of surplus energy, food and other resources when they are available – to invest in systems that will sustain us and our descendants through times of scarcity and disruption.” Yes, that most explicitly means capturing solar and wind energy, or water runoff, but also capturing the skills of community elders, and the arboreta of useful species. One of the best “energy capture system” we can build is a library, so that the decades of ornithological, biological, and climate research we’re doing today can be applied to researchers tomorrow, and so our children can hear the recorded call of the turtle dove preserved no matter what happens to its future. Energy isn’t just atoms and electrons, but the brainpower and life fed by the cycle of life. Given this broad, eye-opening definition, do you have any forms of energy you want to capture and store in your life, from the rich soil in your yard to the seed bank in your community?

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

“On the first day of Christmas my true love sent

“On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: a partridge in a pear tree” so goes the famous carol. But why is the partridge in the pear tree, and is it upsetting the rest of the garden ecosystem and food forest? These are the questions we must ask ourselves during the Twelve Days of Christmas: how can we learn from this and use it as a growing lesson? For the next twelve days, we’ll be teaching you about one principle of urban permaculture for each day of the carol, starting today with this fowl in an orchard! Aren’t partridges beautiful? Instead of first worrying what it’s doing and if it’s an intruder, we urge gardeners to see any new species as an opportunity to observe and interact, seeing what the newcomer is like. After all, birds fill an amazing garden ecosystem niche. Urban permaculture takes this systems-thinking approach to its greatest extent, asking how we can design a sustainable environment whether that’s our backyard or communal courtyard. And how can we know what our current environment is, or how to design a better one, without constant observation?

@upfrontandbeautiful discusses this in her newest blog post (linked in bio), writing that “Each morning, rain or shine or snow, I walk our small property and observe. I pause long enough to listen, take photographs, and make note of the many small things that appear to be aiding or abetting the Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea/Archaebacteria, and Bacteria/Eubacteria that live in and around our landscape.” If you can do the same, this meditative practice yields some amazing results: you might find out that your newest partridge friend might be eating worms earlier in the morning (better cap that worm compost system), Japanese beetles in the evening (which helps out your leafy greens stay uneaten) and that it keeps returning to one pear tree it finds to be especially tasty: maybe a hint you should try to eat from it? That’s all from just carefully observing its eating patterns! What’s your favorite garden observation you’ve made on a walk?

That’s right, we’re looking for a new team mem

That’s right, we’re looking for a new team member to help direct the #MillionGardens expansion based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Visit the link in our bio to look into the role, on the ground work, skills we’re looking for, and how to apply to this position before it closes on January 3rd! So excited to keep growing and find a great regional manager.

#milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #recruitment #jobposting #vacancy #jobsearch

Here's some of ours, but what are your favorite ga

Here's some of ours, but what are your favorite gardening songs? We need to make a 2022 playlist! If you haven't heard this pickle/cucumber song you HAVE TO 🎶💚

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

You can make these exquisite drinks yourself using

You can make these exquisite drinks yourself using foraged and garden-grow fruit: they’re easier than they look! “With very few exceptions, I am gifting from our garden this holiday season,” @upfrontandbeautiful writes in her newest blog post (link in bio, with recipes!) For some, these kind of gifts come from necessity, others from pride for what you’ve grown over the year, but either way Neubert shows you how to brew amazing spirits using rescued fruit, such as dehydrated gooseberries from earlier heat waves or the weirdly restricted Damson plums (anyone know why you can’t buy them some places?). Come for the gin recipe, stay for the alcohol-free lemon verbena drinks and wonderful photos! Take a look at our link in bio.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Take a look at two groups of young gardeners first

Take a look at two groups of young gardeners first discovering the power of growing their own food, each at different #MillionGardens Movement events in 2021. Pretty amazing right? We can’t wait to host more and support more gardeners in 2022, and we need your help to do so. Did you know that 31% of charitable donations happen in December, with donations really ramping up after Thanksgiving? It’s the time of the year for gifting, with donations made in peoples’ honor or name to causes they care about. For our Movement, holiday donations create a springboard to start an amazing 2022, and will make such a difference to our community partners and families we jumpstart gardening. If you want to give as little as $15, your donation would be greatly appreciated. If you want to become a community partner with us, we’d also love to hear from you at our partners’ page! Visit the link in bio to see how you can give. Thank you to all who have given so far.

#milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife
#

Yesterday was Black Friday, and next week starts e

Yesterday was Black Friday, and next week starts early with Cyber Monday, so if you’re running out to grab gifts for gardeners, take a look at our 2021 gift guide. It’s hard to gift what a garden often needs—a few good hours of weeding and harvesting—so you can always gift an IOU for a gardener to cash come May. Maybe with the requirement of being paid in endives. Visit the link in our bio!

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Movement!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the Movement! This holiday is a time for all of us to come together, bond like family, and reflect on the challenges we’ve all faced (certainly this year has had unique ones)—we wish you were able to have that space, time, and energy.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Sweet potato miso! Apple butter swirl chess pie! A

Sweet potato miso! Apple butter swirl chess pie! Atlantic Beach pie from backyard lemons! Pumpkin, pimento, pecan, and pandan panna cotta pies (those should all be separate, NOT in one crust). The world of pies is wide open this week as we bake for our family and use the favorite fall treats we can, from boiled cider to foraged black walnuts. What pie is in your back pocket for this week? More importantly, what pie do you think you can finally master? We’ve always wanted to grow our own teas and then infuse milk with them in a custard! So excited to see your bakes, and I’m sure your table will devour them with many compliments.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Here at the Million Gardens Movement, we know how

Here at the Million Gardens Movement, we know how far away growing and greenery can feel during the winter holidays, under sheets of ice and snow: that’s why we want to bring you a guide to help you select the best gifts to ask for (or give to others) this holiday season that center gardening, from beginner gardens to indoor gardens to raised beds. Check out the link in our bio to visit our list and get what you need! Ranging from hose nozzles to cookbooks, you’re sure to find something here that fits, including a Movement member exclusive discount to the American Horticultural Society and some great products from our partners.

#milliongardens #milliongardensmovement #growagarden #giveagarden #gardenpathways #farmlife #homestead #backyardgarden #gardening #homegrown #growfoodnotlawns #eatwhatyougrow #gardeninglife #gardeningtips #greenthumb #gardenscrapbook #instagardeners #gardeningismytherapy #newgarden #grownwithlove #fresh #fromseed #dogoodbegood #growyourownfood #gardeninglife #giveback #urbanag #farmlife

Did you know that 20% of people did not know that ketchup was made from tomatoes?