TULSA, Okla. — “This is on a west side exposure, so we're planting a lot of sun hardy plants.”
Brian Jervis, the Tulsa Master Gardeners coordinator, is describing all the work going on at the Habitat for Humanity home. Tulsa Master Gardeners are doing what they do best, getting their hands dirty working in the Oklahoma soil.
“Our volunteers really enjoy it,” Jervis said.
With about 400 volunteers, Tulsa Master Gardeners help make each Habitat house a home, right before the new homeowner moves it.
“It's kind of like the finishing touch, that ribbon on the present so to speak that just really finishes out the home,” said Thomas Golden with Habitat for Humanity.
The homeowner supplies the plants and all the labor is free.
“That gives them an extra incentive to kind of water a little more and keep them looking pretty good,” Jervis said.
You cold say the partnership between the two groups makes them two peas in a pod.
“Habitat doesn't have to hire somebody to plant, and it gives our volunteers an opportunity to get out and spread the joy of gardening,” Jervis said.
When one Habitat home in a Tulsa neighborhood is transformed into something beautiful, the idea spreads like weeds.
“Then we start to see the neighbors kind of pick up the pace and start to care more about their home,” Golden said.
“Coming here to the house today it's wonderful and the house looks great,” said Karen Watkins, a Tulsa Master Gardener for 26 years. “But with a garden it just adds that pop and that love.”
Watkins knows the joy plants can bring to both the homeowner and the volunteer.
“It's a great way to get together with friends, it's a great way to do something for somebody, and we like being in the dirt,” she said. “Let's face it, we're gardeners!”
Tulsa Master Gardeners also provide gardening classes for the homeowners four times a year so they can learn more about how to care for plants and their new lawn.
To learn more about Tulsa Master Gardeners, click here.
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