KENNEDY SPACE CENTER GARDEN CLUB

Our next event is Friday June 18th @ 11am! We’ll be discussing summer-specific gardening tips and have a presentation on carnivorous plants by guest speaker Kevin Zari! See you there!

Thank you to everyone who attended our first official event of 2021! We learned about Spring gardening tasks and got an inside look at vermicomposting! Check out the event slides on the “Events” tab.

Here are the tentatively planned events for 2021 from your KSC Garden Club!

• April – “What’s Growing On?” event series (Spring Edition)
• April – Spring Plant Swap @ KARS Park (tentative in-person event)
• May – “Native Plants in the Landscape” with TOSC Environmental Speakers
• June – “What’s Growing On?” event series (Summer Edition)
• July – “Pets & Plants” Virtual Summer Social
• August – National Wellness Month event with KNOW
• September – “What’s Growing On?” event series (Fall Edition)
• September/October – Fall Plant Swap @ KARS Park (tentative in-person event)
• November – Annual “Healing Through Horticulture” event with KSC Vets
• December – “What’s Growing On?” event series (Winter Edition)

The KSC Veterans Employee Resource Group and the KSC Garden Club have teamed up to present “Healing through Horticulture,” a special virtual lunch and learn focused on how gardening can help alleviate stress. The sources of stress can seem overwhelming and come at us from every direction. The good news is there are things we can do for ourselves that can help relieve some of the pressures of life we all face. Join us Wednesday, Sept. 16 on Teams, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., for a special virtual presentation on how getting your hands dirty can help soothe the soul!

Link to recorded presentation here.

For those of you who have plants to swap, or are looking to add to your collections, there are two ways to do so:

Use the Facebook Group “KSCGC Free Plants”

Use our “Free Plants” channel on MS Teams.

The KSC Garden Club is proud to host our first virtual event, “How Horticulture Helps Heal Us” on Wednesday August 5th, at 11:00am. This informal presentation will discuss some of the benefits of gardening, both mental and physical. We will also briefly discuss our club’s “return to work” plan for the gardens. Attendees will have an opportunity to showcase a favorite plant if they choose. Contact Nadia Shokrani for an invite.

The KSCGC plant swap has been officially cancelled for 2020. Stay tuned for new virtual activities being offered soon!

June 22nd through June 28th is National Pollinator Week! While we won’t have any in-person events, you can celebrate at home. Below are a few ideas to get you started, check out more resources at www.pollinator.org.

• Remove invasive plants from your yard
• Build a native bee house
• Resolve to use fewer or more natural pesticides
• Plant a pollinator garden (or even just 1 plant!)
• Observe uncommon pollinators, like bats or beetles, in their natural habitat

Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, our Spring Free Plant Swap has been postponed indefinitely. We will reschedule when it is safe to do so. Take this time to focus on your home gardens and stay safe out there!