Senior gardening may soon be blooming here

Bob Gillon is hoping to make a number of local seniors’ lives a little bit brighter this spring with the garden-sharing program he’s created called “Sharecroppers.”
The program aims to give seniors who do not have access to a garden the chance to help those who do with their gardening chores.
“I have been working with seniors at the Sister Kennedy Centre for quite a while,” Gillon said Monday. “There are so many seniors who love to garden but can’t because they live in an apartment.
“Then there are those seniors who have gardens but can’t maintain them,” he added. “I thought it would be nice to bring these two groups together to help each other out.”
Although the program is still in its early stages, Gillon already has received a great deal of interest from seniors around the community.
“I have a few people who want to participate in it already,” he said. “They love the idea of being able to get out there and garden.
“Many of them are looking forward to the coming spring, which is something they never had before.”
While the program is geared toward seniors, Gillon stressed it’s open to anyone who would like to either donate their garden to the program or participate in the gardening itself.
“Anyone who wants to be a part of it can certainly join,” he remarked. “However, my main reason for starting this program is to give seniors the chance to work together on something they love.”
With snow still on the ground and so many plans and ideas in the works, Gillon can only wait and see if there is a need in the community for his garden-sharing idea.
“Right now, I am just waiting to hear if people are going to be interested in being a part of the program,” he admitted. “If I see that people want to do this, then I can start planning for it and making arrangements.
“I am eventually hoping to have local businesses donate supplies and possibly even get the program tied in with the [town beautification] project that is being done through the Chamber,” he added.
For more information on the program, call Gillon at 274-1426.