As her grandchildren and her gardens grew, Granny realized the positive effect flowers have on people and began offering free workshops for parents and kids. She decided then she wanted to find a way to give even more children the opportunity to pick flowers. In the fall of 2001, Granny was picking up her grandchildren (then in first and second grade) from Loveland Elementary School, when she noticed a lady planting mums on the school grounds.  “It was as if a light bulb went off in my head at that moment,” she says. “It had never occurred to me until that time that someone could plant something at school.”

Granny introduced herself to the lady, Nancy Garfinkel, the school librarian, who was doing what she could to make the front of the school building less dismal and barren. Granny shared with Nancy her desire to make it possible for kids to plant flowers and pick flowers. Nancy introduced Granny to school administrators and the grounds manager. Three weeks later, they were all there to support her when she made her presentation to the Loveland School Board. By the time that presentation was made, the original desire to give children an opportunity to pick flowers had developed into the beginning of the Granny’s Garden School programs that exist today.

The Loveland school garden program launched the following spring. For three days each week, students spent their gym classes digging garden beds and planting perennials. Granny developed garden activities and teachers signed up to participate. By that fall, seventeen teachers had their own class gardens and were bringing their students out each week to work with Granny. By 2003, that number jumped to 37 classes. Today, there are 55 10’ x 20’ class gardens that are used to teach across the curriculum. Students come out as a part of their school day to plant, weed, harvest and learn.

The impact of Granny’s Garden School programs reaches well beyond the classroom. Granny’s Garden School has transformed the whole environment of the Loveland Elementary School grounds. In conjunction with Granny’s Garden School, twenty-one Eagle Scout projects have been completed, including the creation of learning centers and enhancements to the on-site nature trail that is used by community members as well as students. Granny’s Garden School has received local and national awards and media attention that sheds a favorable light on both the schools and the community.

The success of Granny’s Garden School has become the inspiration for other school garden coordinators and hopefuls from near and far. More than 275 educators from 120 institutions have visited the gardens for two-hour tours where they learn about the evolution of the program, receive tips on how to establish and run a garden program, and participate in a hands-on demonstration of how to work with students in a garden setting.

As Granny researched school garden programs across the country, she found the ghost of many programs that used to be. One of the most common factors in school garden program failures is that when the founder, who had the passion and dedication to begin the program, moves on, the program is left to literally wither and die. To prevent this from happening to Granny’s Garden School, the program applied for and was granted 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 2006. Additionally, a volunteer board of directors oversees the organization, developing structure and strategic planning that will allow Granny’s Garden School to continue to thrive even when Granny is no longer at the helm.

Entering its eleventh year, Granny’s Garden School (like the grandchildren who inspired it and are now in high school) continues to grow and mature. While the first five years were spent developing the gardens, trails and programs, the second five were spent making improvements, streamlining processes and developing an organizational structure. Now, in addition to the School Garden Program, Granny’s Garden School is also the umbrella for the Schoolyard Nature Network, a program that offers information, support and training to school garden developers. The final of the three core programs of Granny’s Garden School is the Family Garden Project, which encourages families to create vegetable and flower gardens and other practical and fun features in their yards to entice the whole family to spend time outside.