the garden club of kent gardens

If you are interested in renting one of our seasonal plots in 2025, please email backyardpest@gmail.com. Be sure to provide your name, mailing address, phone number and email address.  Only a few plots are available, so respond promptly if you're interested. 

2025 SEASON  The gardens will be open for planting the week of May 12 (weather permitting) and close on Nov. 30.

ABOUT THE GARDENS  The gardens are owned and operated by The Garden Club of Kent. The grounds are overseen by the club’s Gardens and Buildings & Grounds committees and other club members, all of whom volunteer their time and talents to care for our beautiful piece of earth. Plots are available to rent for club members and the general public.

GARDENERS: RULES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Garden Club of Kent reserves the right to discontinue your property rental at any point in the season without reimbursement if you fail to observe these Terms of Use:

PAYMENT

•  The fee is $40 per plot for the 2025 garden season for a 16’ by 40’ space. Payment is due by April 1, 2025. THIS IS A HARD DEADLINE. Payment by check or cash only. Make checks payable to The Garden Club of Kent. Payments should be sent to The Garden Club of Kent, P.O. Box 88, Kent OH 44240.

COMMON COURTESIES

•  Be courteous to your fellow gardeners and visitors.

•  Do not walk in other gardens without invitation or the gardener’s permission. 

•  Do not pick from other people’s gardens.

•  No smoking in the gardens, the Ode to Joy building, greenhouse or hoop house. Smoking is permitted in the parking lot on the north side of the Ode to Joy building only.

•  No firearms, substance abuse, hazardous materials, excessive voices or music, or inappropriate language or conduct on The Garden Club of Kent property.

•  Abusive or violent behavior or threats will not be tolerated and may result in termination of the renter’s garden privileges. 

•  Routinely take trash and plant debris to the property trash bin by the garage and compost piles around the gardens. 

PARKING & CARS ON THE PROPERTY

•  The vehicle speed limit on the garden driving paths is 2 mph. 

•  Restrict parking directly by your plot only to load and unload, and then move your vehicle to one of our many common parking areas.

MANAGING YOUR GARDEN PLOT

•  Seasonal garden plots not planted by June 15 will be forfeited without refund and reassigned to another gardener.

• The active gardening area of each plot is 16’x40’. Make sure there is a cleared one-foot path around your entire plot (within the 16’x40’ space). You can mulch the paths with newspaper and straw or other material to walk on. 

•  Do not remove the flags between plots. 

•  No planting of trees or shrubs is permitted. 

•  Along the paths by your garden, be prepared to allow hoses leading from the spigots to other gardeners’ plots.

•  It is best to bring your own tools and hose. However, we have a rack of community tools and carts available outside the hoop house, which you are free to use and expected to return as soon as you’re done using them.  

•  Personal roto-tillers may be used. (Please note that electricity is not available.) 

•  Do not throw rocks from your garden into the paths that surround it or into the grass. Rocks are a tripping hazard and they can ruin our mowers.  

•  Please leave gardens tidy at the end of the day.  

WATER USAGE

•  Water is available from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. A timer shuts the water off from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

•  Make sure the water is completely turned off when you finish watering. 

•  Soaker hoses and sprinklers are not permitted. Long-period watering affects water pressure for others and diminishes the property’s water table.

•  If necessary, you may pull your hose down the side paths of others’ gardens to get to your own. Please be mindful not to drag the hose through someone’s garden.

•  When you are finished watering, never leave your hose connected to the spigot. Roll up your hose and keep it within your 16’x40’ plot or take it with you.

•  When not in use, hoses must not obstruct walking paths or be left on the grass.

•  Report any water problems to Jil Morgan at 216-408-0264 (call or text).  

PEST & WEED CONTROL

•  The use of Round-Up is forbidden on our property.

•  Most of our gardeners are organic. Please use environmentally friendly pest controls and fertilizers. 

•  Do not use insecticides that are harmful to pollinators.

•  Do not use pesticides or insecticides in windy conditions. 

•  Pull diseased plants as soon as you discover them and throw them in our dumpster by the garage.  

•  You can bucket weeds and prunings and throw them on the compost piles located around the property. Please do not put diseased plants in these compost piles.

END OF SEASON

Our permanent gardeners are not affected by these terms; they apply to seasonal gardeners only:

•  By Oct. 31, 2025, all inorganic materials must be removed from your garden. This includes hoses, string, wire, cages, fencing, weed suppression fabric, garden art and hose guards. Anything left behind becomes the property of The Garden Club of Kent. Failure ot meet this deadline will result in the forfeiture of your plot(s) in 2026.

•  You may continue to garden until Nov. 30, 2025. By this date, please cut down organic materials higher than one foot.

INDEMNITY Gardeners accept all risks associated with the use of our garden plots and environment and for their crops to grow. The gardeners shall not make any claim or demand or take any legal action against The Garden Club of Kent on the site of the gardens for loss, damage or injury caused by the gardener, other gardeners, family, friends or their property.

The Garden Club of Kent is not responsible for any materials within your rented garden plot(s), including plants, tools, hoses and decorative items.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GARDEN CLUB OF KENT  

Gardens Committee

Maintain an active and accessible Gardens Committee to communicate with gardeners; respond to gardeners’ inquiries and address issues as they pertain to the property; publish annual guidelines for the rental and use of permanent and seasonal garden plots; manage reservations and payment for plots; and mark individual garden boundaries (16’x40’) and number plots in the center of frontage.

Brush Hogging & Tilling

Disc and till seasonal gardens (not permanent plots) each year to prepare grounds for planting.  

Property Maintenance 

Oversee the The Garden Club of Kent property and its resources, including mowing and grounds care; building maintenance; port-o-john and trash services; and water infrastructure.

Communications

Communicate by email with gardeners regarding deadlines for reservations and payment; plot assignments; opening and closing dates of the gardens; and special opportunities and special events. Respond promptly to inquiries.