While working with the City Greenhouse to come up with innovative springtime gardening ideas for this issue, we were intrigued by all that goes on in their busy workrooms tucked away near the stables at Hampton Park. The greenhouse, established in 1987, is supported by an almost all-volunteer staff who produce 49,000 annuals and 15,000 tropicals for the city of Charleston’s 90 parks every year. More than just a place to propagate, the greenhouse offers a variety of community programs. For instance, visit Hampton Park on Saturday afternoons, or every other Thursday from 5-7 p.m., for happy hour plantings. You can even adopt a bed for four months, or join in the annual plant swap, this May. Our favorite event in the works for summer: The indigo workshop, where you can learn to make the dye yourself by extracting it from the plants that create it. To sign up for any events, call the horticulture volunteers line at (843) 958-6434, and check out the Garden Gazette newsletter, which provides dates and times of future projects. —Kelly Sullivan
