Patricia Wells, Master Gardener intern living in Grantham, works a permanent part-time garden associate position for Home Depot in Claremont, NH. Her responsibilities cover inside and outside gardening and home products, including soils, seeds, flowers, snow blowers, and power tools. She’s been working there for four years and has completed all the available HD training, including nursery certification. Patricia loves to garden and values being helpful, providing information and educational resources to the public, and supporting customer projects. To that end, she asked for, and was granted, permission by HD to keep her Thursdays free in order to attend a Master Gardener class in Concord this past fall.
Patricia has lots of ideas about how to introduce HD and her Claremont community to the Cooperative Extension and Master Gardener projects. Her first workshop, Seed Starting, will be Saturday, March 10th at 11 AM. She plans on telling some stories, sharing tips, distributing fact sheets, and giving support to all gardening enthusiasts. Patricia hopes to create a monthly series if her spring workshops are well attended. Plans include the following: Container Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Strawberries, Pest Management, Bringing Pollinators into the Garden, and Putting Your Garden to Bed.
When discussing the educational aspects of sharing UNH Cooperative Extension information, Patricia says, “I’m excited about impacting the community where HD vendors, customers, and community typically come together. It is here that information and exposure to the great benefits of the Cooperative Extension can be leveraged and expanded.”
According to Patricia, it is rare that big box stores link with nonprofits, so she is pioneering an important means of contributing to the mission of the UNH Master Gardener Association: “For 100 years, our specialists have been tailoring contemporary, practical education to regional needs, creating a well-informed citizenry while strengthening key economic sectors.”
The opportunities for garden networking and increasing community conversations through linking with commercial opportunities seem a good fit that has found a home in Claremont, thanks to Patricia’s passion and leadership.
