Mission
In April of 2000, a group of Olivette residents interested in gardening and
in their community came together to form Olivette in Bloom (OIB). The group's
mission is to promote the natural beauty and harmony in the community of
Olivette by designing, planting, and maintaining garden sites in selected public
grounds.
Organizational Structure
Olivette in Bloom is a non-profit (501c3) organization. We are registered in
the State of Missouri. Our Bylaws delineate the responsibilities of officers and
three standing committees: Garden Design, Maintenance / Volunteers, and
Development / Public Relations.
We design the gardens, raise the money for plant material through individual
donations, buy and install the plants, and maintain the sites during the year.
Volunteers
The founding group was made up of 15 individuals. Our inspiration and model
was a successful project in a neighboring community (U City in Bloom).
Currently, we have a group of over 40 active volunteers, each committing to
maintain the garden sites at one of the group workdays or during a week or more
during the year. Some of our volunteers are Master Gardeners, others are
learning. Good information is being exchanged about successful gardening
practices and plant choices.
Garden Sites
We look for public sites that meet our criteria: 1) the absence or poor
quality of existing landscaping, 2) maximum visibility for the community, 3)
access to water, 4) parking for volunteers, and 5) reasonable size for OIB to
support.
We work cooperatively with the Olivette Parks and Recreation Department on
selection of sites. We continue to experiment with plant material, learning what
does well in a particular environment.
Future Goals
Our goal is to extend our efforts into other public garden areas in Olivette
as our financial and volunteer resources grow. To reach that goal we will need
to reach out to the Business Community and the residents of Olivette in
supporting our gardens.
Community gardening is a project that brings people together who might not
have known each other before, but who share love of gardening and love of
community. It builds community pride while providing while providing visual
beauty for all.
