Welcome to ColumbiaGardeners.com

Vision, Mission and Values

What is Columbia Gardeners?

Columbia Gardeners, Inc. is a nonprofit organization providing gardening opportunities in Howard County, in partnership with the Howard County Recreation and Parks Department. We offer garden plots at three locations (Elkhorn, Long Reach, and West Side).  Currently, Columbia Gardeners serves gardeners with over 600 plots.
 
Our gardeners are an eclectic group, ranging from novice to experienced – from mother-daughter teams to seniors – and our gardeners represent countries from all over the world:  Burma, Japan, China, Haiti, Russia, the Ukraine and more.  We have gardeners who grew up on farms as well as city folk.  This wonderful mixture of backgrounds and experience and cultures helps make the gardening experience at Columbia Gardens fun, rewarding, and educational.
 
Each site offers garden plots that are approximately 20 X 25 feet, access to these plots by common pathways, centrally located water supplies, common compost bins, wood chips, parking, a locking entrance gate, and picnic tables.  Gardeners are responsible for fencing (except at the expansion plots at Elkhorn and Long Reach, both of which have a fence surrounding the entire set of new gardens), tilling/digging, planting, watering, weeding, and performing four hours of site service per plot per year.
 
In addition, Elkhorn and Long Reach sites have a new set of gardens surrounded by a fence for organic gardening.
 
We have a variety of social and educational events during the gardening year, April through October, including talks by Master Gardeners, talks by regional gardening experts, seed exchanges, garden work days, bird walks, butterfly walks, plant diagnostic workshops, garden tours, and picnics.


How do I get a plot?
 

We currently have a waiting list for the gardening year.  If you are a Howard County resident and would like to be added to the list, please use the Wait List Request Form on our website.

Existing gardeners please note we are no longer accepting applications for additional plots.

If you do not have an email account, send a letter to: Columbia Gardeners
P.O. Box 193
Columbia, MD 21045

 

Please include the following information in the email or letter:

*Full name, phone numbers, email, home address.
*Your site preference: please choose only one.
*If you want to be / agree to be an organic gardener.
*How you heard about Columbia Gardeners.


When a spot becomes available from the waiting list at your preferred site, you will be notified by the site manager.


The sites are located here.

Upcoming Events
2024

Please note that dates and events are subject to change/cancellation depending on the status of the Coronavirus pandemic. Site manager email updates will provide further information closer to the scheduled dates.

Spring Meeting: April 24
Owen Brown Interfaith Center
Social hour, 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Regular Meeting, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Weeding Deadline: April 15
Deadline To Prepare Your Plot: May 15
Deadline To Plant Your Plot: June 1
Deadline To Complete Service Hours: October 31

Spring Clean Up:
West Side, April 20, 9:00am
Elkhorn , April 27, 9:00am
Long Reach I, May 4, 9:00am
Long Reach II, May 4, 9:00am
All Rain Dates are the next day at 9:00am.

Fall CG Picnic: September 7
Host: Long Reach Site
12:00pm to 2:00pm
Rain Date September 8.

Fall Meeting: October 23
Owen Brown Interfaith Center
Social hour, 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Regular Meeting, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Fall 2023 Meeting Minutes Vote


Fall Clean Up:
West Side, November 2, 12:00pm
Elkhorn, October 19, 8:00am
Long Reach I, October 26, 9:00am
Long Reach II, October 26, 9:00am
All Rain Dates are the next day.