Governor Deval Patrick declared the month of May as “Flower and Nursery” month in the Commonwealth as part of an event at the Mather School in Dorchester on May first. The event showcased the “Plant Something” campaign to encourage young and not-so-young people to get involved with planting …flowers, vegetables, herbs, shrubs, trees…something!
The Mather School is the oldest public elementary school in the country (almost 375 years) but has a few new outdoor features, including an outdoor classroom and gardens. Heavy rains forced the kids to stay inside, so Governor Patrick planted marigolds with a first grade class. Then dressed for gardening, he went outside and got wet and muddy while planting perennials in the garden. He told onlookers that he actually likes gardening in the rain, though five degrees warmer would have been better.
In his comments, the Governor spoke of his grandmother’s love of plants even though her garden space was limited to a hard scrap of land behind an apartment block in Chicago where he grew up. When asked his favorite plant by Chris Kennedy of Kennedy’s Country Gardens in Scituate, Patrick replied, “Peonies” and went on to explain that they were his grandmother’s favorite and he has a garden of them.
The following growers are part of Plant Something and donated the plants to the event: Bartlett’s of Sudbury, Cavicchio’s also of Sudbury, the Flower Hutch of Townsend, King Farms also in Townsend, and Northeast Nursery of Peabody. Join the movement!
Plant Something Massachusetts is a project of Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association, and was originally established in partnership with Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association.