Gardens add value to home, green to wallet

CINCINNATI - “Nature, nurture, nourish.”

Three words that define what owner of One Small Garden believes in when it comes to gardening for the home and for the soul.

Plus, you “can impact your sense of food security by growing your own food,” said Juliann Gardener, who also said that there is “nothing better than fresh” when it comes to her food.

‘Nature, nurture, nourish,’ she said, simply means plant it, grow it, eat it. Learning how to sustain your own food source through “just one small garden” and nourish yourself is what she said is a “priceless” lesson.

Invaluable to know who to sustain yourself with food you grow yourself. And it’s that one small garden that, she said, makes all the difference to your home. [It] “makes a major improvement in your life and value to home as a place to live.”

In turn, this adds value to your home, not house necessarily, but your home and all that encompasses: your family, your landscape.

“Your landscape should be something that you interact with. Nurture that sanctuary we call home. Nothing more nutrient rich, then bringing something in from your backyard.”

Ryan Mooney-Bullock, program manager for Green Learning Station Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati said that while most people look at their front yard as a lawn with some trees, they could really beautify their space with edible gardens.

Her favorites are Swiss chard plants and blueberry bushes, which said, are not only gorgeous but also delicious.

“We encourage people to think creativity while creating food at the same time.”

With the cost of fuels going up, Gardener said, she has to believe that any little bit can defray costs. In fact, in a 4x8 bed that she planted, she saved an estimated $600 in one growing season with the edibles that she grew and ate.

“The value in even one small garden is nearly priceless.”

Bullock said, whether it’s fruits, veggies or herbs, she could easily spend $50 at a farmer’s market. Those same items, that she said, she grows herself in the summer would be about $10.

She broke it down:
1 pack of seeds for $1.50 = $100 in tomatoes.

In the spring and fall, she said, it’s easy to grow greens like lettuce and spinach. Consumers pay nearly $4 for a box of lettuce at grocery, while, she said, they could grow much more for that price.

[It’s] “a really good return on your investment.”

Bullock said that her organization hosts community gardens around the city for people who don’t have space in their yard. These gardens are free or very little to join, she said. Civicgardencenter.org.

One Small Garden and Green Learning Station Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati will be showcased among more than 400 exhibitors beginning this weekend at the 39th annual Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati Home & Garden Show® presented by the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Honda Dealers, which takes place Feb. 26-27 and Mar. 2-6, at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati.

“The Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati Home & Garden Show has become the annual place to start any type of home improvement, remodeling landscape or garden project,” said Chip Hart, CEO of Hart Productions, which produces the Show.

Cincinnati’s largest and longest-running spring showcase brings together the area’s best collection of remodelers, landscape companies, design experts, home maintenance and repair specialists and home product retailers to help visitors turn dreams into reality.