Giving Tuesday Spotlight: FrontLine Gardens

Ever since Will Rapp founded Gardener's Supply in 1983, giving back to the broader gardening community has been central to our business. Gardener's Supply is a company built by and for gardeners, after all, and as a collection of employee-owners who relish both the physical and intangible benefits of dirtying our hands in soil, we can't help but delight in sharing and celebrating these therapeutic benefits with others. That's why for this year’s Giving Tuesday, we're thrilled to spotlight our partnership with FrontLine Gardens, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides gardening resources to veterans and law enforcement injured in the line of duty and/or suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Stephanie Trost and her husband Mike, a combat-wounded Army veteran turned farmer, spun FrontLine Gardens up in 2019 with the goal of providing physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing to heroes working through trauma. As of today, over 800 volunteers have served the benefits of gardening to about 80 veterans and first responders in five different states with support from organizations such as Burpee Seeds, Ferry-Morse, and of course, Gardener's Supply Company. We at Gardener's Supply are proud to have donated hand tools, raised beds, and more to help make FrontLine's mission a reality.

Featured Build: Jimmy Zoss in Colorado

Originally from South Dakota, Jimmy Zoss grew up working on his family's farm. At 19, he was drafted into the Army and ultimately earned an E-5 rank serving in Vietnam. Afterwards Jimmy got married and moved to Pueblo, CO, but struggled with PTSD. To make matters worse, Jimmy fell and injured his spinal cord in 2020. As part of his rehabilitation, he enjoyed planting a garden with Veterans Affairs hospital staff and other veterans. Jimmy was set up with a power wheelchair, which created both opportunity and challenge in terms of gardening and other outdoor activities.

Enter FrontLine Gardens. With the help of donated Elevated Cedar Planter Boxes from Gardener's Supply, FrontLine volunteers constructed an accessible garden in keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Now, Jimmy can continue to heal though the therapeutic benefits of gardening. FrontLine Gardens continues to work with organizations such as AgrAbility to enhance access and quality of life for differently abled gardeners and farmers.

Jimmy and his wife, ready to enjoy their accessible garden

The Life-Affirming Benefits of Gardening

At Gardener's Supply, we like to talk about three different kinds of benefits we receive through gardening:

• Benefits in the garden, i.e., getting fresh air and exercise and communing with nature
• Benefits from the garden, i.e., fresh healthy food or cheerful cut flowers to share with friends
• Benefits because of the garden, i.e., a greater sense of purpose and connection

All of these categories link directly to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing that FrontLine Gardens and other organizations hold at the heart of their missions. As gardeners we facilitate other life in addition to living our own, an act imbued with both science and miracle. And this act of engaging with the natural world that was here before us and will endure after us is one of celebration and hope.

How You Can Help

In the spirit of this year's Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join us in supporting FrontLine Gardens by making a donation. Then, peruse our website to learn about other causes we care about. We look forward to continuing to serve the gardening community in 2025 and beyond, and we appreciate your help—whether that looks like donating, volunteering, or simply choosing to shop with us. Together, we can extend the benefits of gardening to others and truly make the world a healthier, happier place.