According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gardening is a great source of physical activity and gardeners have lower body mass indexes than non-gardeners.  With the cost of fruits and vegetables up 7.8% in the last year gardeners also save money by growing their own fruits and vegetables. Perhaps the largest benefit of gardening is according to the American Horticulture Therapy Association, gardening helps improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, and socialization. As far as physical rehabilitation gardening can help strengthen muscles and improve coordination, balance, and endurance.

With all the health benefits of gardening so abundantly clear the Horticulture Agent and the former Garden Club President decided that the still dormant former garden club from the pandemic should start meeting again.  The revamped garden club met and decided to focus on horticultural education day trips that include tours, events, and socializing.

In the last year the day trips included the Waterfront Botanical Garden, the Arboretum State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, Yew Dell Botanical Gardens, and several commercial nurseries, greenhouses, and farms.

Participant evaluation results are as follows:  100% stated they learned something new at every event, 95% say they will share information they learned with others, 100% stated they have less anxiety and stress by attending the club meetings and interacting with others, and 90% stated they have renewed interest in gardening again.