IT'S GARDENING TIME!

KELLOGG — Patrons of the Silver Bee Community should be gathering their seeds and planning out their plots as planting day quickly approaches.

After seven successful years, including two years of navigating through the COVID-19 Pandemic, garden president and coordinator Deanne Fitzgerald is excited to be moving back into a more normal method of operation as the garden enters its eighth season.

Over the past two years, strict guidelines such as washing hands prior to entering the garden, limiting the number of gardeners at a time as well as fully restricting visitors, constant equipment sterilization, and other coronavirus-related concerns really prevented the garden from being the popular social hub that it had been during its first five years — but those restrictions are a thing of the past and now there are no rules.

Just kidding, there are still rules — just not nearly as strict.

Since its inception the quaint garden — located within Kellogg’s Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes Greenbelt — has seen steady year-over-year growth and that is sure to continue in 2022, especially under the watchful eye of Fitzgerald.

“Other cities and communities have done it with great success, so we worked very hard to make it a success here too,” Fitzgerald told the News-Press previously.

Although nothing has been scheduled just yet, each season the garden tries to hold some sort of community event like its annual Garden Gala, which allowed the members of the community to wander through the garden to check out what their neighbor growers have been up to.

This year, Fitzgerald has a specific way she is laying out registration for her gardeners for the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

“Silver Bee Community Garden is excited to start our seventh growing season. At this time we will be signing up returning gardeners,” Fitzgerald said. “New or interested gardeners will be signed up the following week. We are very thankful for all of the community support that we receive.”

Each plot costs $20, and registration forms can be found on the Silver Bee Community Garden Facebook page. Fitzgerald will be at the garden on April 1, from 2 - 4 p.m. (rain or shine) to collect registration forms and money.