Gardens growing across Texas thanks to community project – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Now that spring is in full swing, many gardeners are tending to the plants. The hobby is good for the garden and the soul, but can be difficult on the budget. That’s one of the reasons why Take a Plant, Leave a Plant started in a Denton front yard.

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy plants and participate in that hobby, regardless of your income,” says Helen Sanderson, founder of Take a Plant, Leave a Plant Denton. “There’s just something so magical about growing something.”

Sanderson started her front yard stock booth in 2020 during the pandemic.

“I think they partly helped me get through that period of isolation,” Sanderson said. “I think there’s something intimate about being in a neighborhood and in a community that adds to the special aspect of it.”

Just like a neighborhood sidewalk library, but for plants, visitors can donate what they don’t want and take what they do want. Since the Take a Plant, Leave a Plant Denton began, about a dozen others have sprung up in DFW.

“Why not share it with people who have the same interest, instead of just throwing it away,” said Merida Cervantes, host of Take a Plant, Leave a Plant Lewisville.

Cervantes’ added a sidewalk library with gardening books and a community garden to her Take a Plant, Leave a Plant Lewisville. She says the community is growing something more sustainable than plants.

“A lot of people who are obsessed with plants just cling to each other,” Cervantes said. “I have seen the friendships grow in this group.”

Both Denton and Lewisville Take a Plant, Leave a Plant have Facebook groups where advice and gardening tips are shared.

Take a Plant, Leave a Plant Denton and Lewisville will host a “Swap and Shop” at the Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio in Denton on May 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event benefits the Shiloh Fields Community Garden.