Allendale Greenhouse Plant Sale May 11 & 12

Flower Power

Horticultural Therapy Helps Allendale’s Troubled Kids Blossom

Allendale Greenhouse Plant Sale

May 11 and 12

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Located 1 mile west of the Rt. 83/Grand Avenue intersection in Lake Villa

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Allendale Teacher Nanci Lunsford paces her “classroom”—a working greenhouse on Allendale’s Lake Villa Campus—pruning plants as she talks about her students.

Allendale Association is a not-for-profit facility for children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Some are victims of abuse or neglect while others may suffer from mental illness. At Allendale, they get the help they need to heal. Lunsford is part of that process.

There was the student who was so traumatized, she would barely speak a sentence. Except in the greenhouse, where she would express herself by creating magnificent floral arrangements.

There was the boy who was a chronic runaway risk. But one place he’d never flee was the garden. Working the warm earth, he began to work out his problems.

Welcome to horticultural therapy—one of the many ways Allendale’s experts help troubled kids put down healthy roots.

“Caring for something that’s alive is very beneficial for these kids,” says Lunsford, who has a background in floral design and horticulture. “Here, they relax. They’re engaged. They can create beautiful, living things. They can be successful.”

Lunsford’s classroom spans the Bernard Rinella Jr. Horticultural Center and the Mazza Gardens (the greenhouse), flower and vegetable gardens, and some of Allendale’s sprawling 100-acre campus.

Students can take classes, or even work for pay—transplanting in the greenhouse, tending the gardens, manning a landscaping crew. Some of them will go on to work for local garden centers and florists.

It’s all part of Allendale’s extensive vocational program, which also includes a hands-on auto shop, wood shop, laundry, café, landscaping program and off-campus thrift store.

“Students not only learn practical career skills here, they learn that they are ‘good at something’,” says Lunsford.

According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, the benefits of gardening have been acknowledged for centuries. But in the last 70 years, “HT” has become a recognized form of therapy.

Says Lunsford, “It’s a new experience for students. Remember, most of them are city kids. They haven’t had much interaction with nature. They’re afraid of bugs. These sales are huge for the kids. When someone buys a plant the students have grown, it gives them an enormous sense of accomplishment.”

The sales are becoming increasingly popular with the community, too. First-time visitors are pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the plants, as well as the competitive prices.

The plant sale is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12. There will be a full line of annuals, herbs, hanging baskets, and premium vegetables for gardeners. There is also a large assortment of succulents suitable for dish gardens or rock gardens and other uncommon garden varieties at reasonable prices.

What a great way to stock that summer garden, while helping the children of Allendale bloom! www.allendale4kids.org For information, phone 847.245.6361.