"Now is

the time for unity," explained Valerie Kelsey, president of the nonprofit

NGA. "In these times of conflict and uncertainty, we know that gardening

has power. The idea is to use your garden or the act of gardening to connect

with others."

On one level,

a Unity Garden expresses the needs we share as human beings: the need

for food, fresh air, exercise, and healing. It also embodies how gardens

satisfy our impulses to be productive, to nurture living things, and to

leave a healthy and beautiful legacy - something to be proud of. On a

deeper level, it symbolizes our desire to make the world a better place

What does a

Unity Garden look like? It's less about design, and more about attitude.

It includes all cultural and political interests and crosses over all

social and religious boundaries. Gardening is all-inclusive.

The main idea

is to find a way to share with others what is important to you about gardening:

share plants from your garden with a neighbor; add an extra row in your

vegetable garden for a food shelf; plant a butterfly garden with an afterschool

program; invite some kids in from the neighborhood to enjoy a garden tea

party; join with a group and plant flowers in a vacant lot. Just unite

with someone to plant something.

For more ideas

on how to connect through your Unity Garden, visit "101 Ways to Celebrate"

at the National Garden Month Web site: www.garden.org. Send in your ideas

and post them on our garden message board.

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