Middletown, Holmdel Boy Scouts, Brownies Improve Garden For The Blind

LEONARDO, NJ — The Middletown and Holmdel Boy Scout troops, plus youth groups, service organizations and local businesses joined together this summer to help the garden bloom at the New Jersey Blind Citizens Association (NJBCA) Camp Happiness headquarters in Leonardo.

What was an overgrown jungle of weeds in April is now a small but thriving garden with waist-high herb and vegetable beds and potted Jersey tomatoes. There is also a sensory garden that lets the visually impaired smell, touch and taste specially selected plants, herbs and flowers.

There are big plans for the garden to grow including Eagle Scout projects from Holmdel Boy Scout Troop 331 to refurbish the fencing and rebuild the beds, rehab the tool shed and upgrade a nearby patio sitting area. Jersey Shore Brownie Troop #60508 helped cultivate the beds and plant border flowers and the Brownies will be coming back to paint and plant a special rock garden.

A generous donation from a member of the Keyport Kiwanis has also provided much-needed and upgraded tools for this and future seasons. Local garden stores Guaranteed Plants and In the Garden also generously donated plants and flowers to the garden.

For now, the garden is in maintenance mode and volunteers are still needed this season to help water and weed the garden and work on a few small projects on the garden grounds. Anyone with a green thumb or time on their hands and a desire to help should contact Kim Kosko at 732-291-5163, or email kimmieknj@gmail.com

NJBCA members are getting hands-on gardening experiences as well. They helped cultivate and establish one whole bed with seedlings that are a now-thriving herb bed ready for harvesting.

“We are so grateful to the team of wonderful supporters and volunteers for making this dream of our members become a reality," said NJBCA executive director Sarah Thoma. "Some of them have a history with NJBCA or had friends and relatives who attended the camp in the past and want to help support it now.”