52 Weeks of Neighboring - Week 10

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Neighboring Tip of the Week - Plant a garden in your FRONT yard.

Hello friend!

We hope you are enjoying some spring weather, wherever you are! We know that the pandemic continues to change Spring plans for all of us, but one activity we can all continue to do throughout this time is gardening. Most of the time, folks plant gardens in their backyards because this offers more privacy. With this neighboring experiment, we’re turning that idea upside down. We propose you plant a garden in your FRONT yard! Planting a garden in your front yard is awesome for neighboring in the time of coronavirus for a variety of different reasons. Here are a few:

  • If your neighbors are also outside, you can interact with them from a distance! Gardening in your front yard gives you the perfect opportunity to talk to any neighbors that are out and about while also being mindful of physical distancing. As we have said in previous tips, we can still have in-person conversations with our neighbors, but we should be mindful of keeping a good distance between each of us. If a neighbor approaches you, you might have to kindly ask them if they would be willing to keep at least six feet between you and them. Again, we want to do everything we can to not potentially expose our neighbors or ourselves to the virus. 

  • You can be visible to your neighbors whether they are inside or out! Even if your neighbors are inside while you are gardening, they might still look out a window and see you. This lets them know you are healthy and well, and hopefully, simply seeing you gardening in your front yard will brighten their day!

  • You can get some fresh air while enjoying the environmental assets of your neighborhood, block, or yard! We all have probably been in our homes a lot more than we are used to, so gardening is the perfect opportunity to be outside and enjoy the gifts of nature in our neighborhoods.

  • You can grow things to share with your neighbors! If you choose to grow flowers, you can add fantastic aesthetic to your street and both you and your neighbors can enjoy them. If you decide to grow produce, you will eventually get food that you can share with your neighbors and also enjoy for yourself!

Let's plant those gardens in our front yards and, in doing so, continue fostering relationships with our neighbors in the time of coronavirus!

Happy neighboring!