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Few volunteers know the Gardens as well as Janet Lauer. Since 2018, she has logged more than 600 hours caring for and tending to different garden spaces across the property. Nowadays, you can find her in the Bruno Vegetable Garden, where she plants and harvests fresh produce that is then donated to feed neighbors in need.

Q&A

How did you get involved as a volunteer at the Gardens?

“I used to take my little grandsons here to walk around. Walking with them familiarized me with the Gardens, and being a gardener at home and loving plants and flowers, this was just an easy fit for me. I started off volunteering wherever I was needed, such as the Southern Living Garden and Ireland Iris Garden. Wherever I was needed, I went.”

What have you learned about gardening?

I have learned a great deal about not only the plants, but the people. In fact, we actually have a lot in common through plants. We may come from different walks of life, but we have this base thing in common. It’s one of the many things that attracts me to continue to come here.

The other thing is the environment. I’m very big into saving our environment as best we can. Volunteering helps me because there are people of the same mind here as well.

Volunteer Janet Lauer passes an oversized cucumber to young campers in the Bruno Vegetable Garden. The children visited the garden in summer 2023 as part of the Friends’ Children’s Summer Camps, weeklong day camps that promote creativity and discovery for children age 4 through sixth grade. Photo Credit: Carmen Michael

What have you enjoyed most about volunteering at the Gardens?

“Aside from the plants, it’s the people here. Katelyn is wonderful. She’s gifted. She is a very original person. I love her ideas. I’ve learned some things from her and from Joanne Shaunessy and Pat Demott. I’ve known them for years, and I look forward to seeing them. They just make my day better by seeing them and talking to them. I’m close with my neighbors and my family, but this is different. This is a different family, but it is family.”

What do you think the benefits of gardening are? 

“I can only really speak for myself, but I find it extremely calming. If I’ve had a rough day or something is not resolved, I’m like, ‘OK, it’s time to go gardening.’ It’s just focusing on one thing. The enjoyment I get, whether pruning or planting or dividing something — it’s great fun for me to do that. It’s sort of a meditative feeling.”

What’s a meaningful moment you had while volunteering? 

“I love interacting with the kids who come in to learn in the garden, whether it’s kindergarten or first grade. I can remember I was harvesting cucumbers, and someone had forgotten a cucumber that was hiding. This cucumber was huge! I thought this was a learning thing for kids visiting the garden. I said to them, “I’m going to pass this cucumber around, but you all are pretty small, and this is a very heavy cucumber. You think you can hold it?” They were like, “Yes! Give it to us!” I said, “Hold it with two hands.” They were all smiles. I enjoyed that as much as they did. That was just pure fun.”

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