the garden club of kent gardens

If you are interested in renting one of our seasonal plots in 2025 and would like to be placed on the waiting list, please email backyardpest@gmail.com. Be sure to provide your name, mailing address, phone number and email address.  Availability will be announced after April 15, 2025. 

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

PAYMENT

•  The fee is $40 per plot for the 2025 garden season for a 

    16’ by 40’ space. 

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 Ode to Joy building, Greenhouse or 

    Hoop House. No smoking is allowed in the gardens. 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.

•  Routinely take trash and plant debris to the property 

    trash bin by the garage.  

• Abusive or violent behavior or threats will not be tolerated and 

   may result in termination of the renter’s garden privileges. 

PARKING

•  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

•  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’ x 40’. 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. 

•  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.

•  Do not use sprinklers or soak hoses. 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’ by 40’ plot. 

•  When not in use, hoses must not obstruct walking paths 

    or be left on the grass.

•  Make sure the water is completely turned off when you 

    finish watering. 

•  Report any water problems to Brian Loveland at 330-

    322-9923 (call or text).  

PEST, WEED & DISEASE CONTROL

•  Most of our gardeners are organic. Please use 

    environmentally friendly pest controls and fertilizers. 

•  Do not use insecticides that are harmful to pollinators, 

    especially bees.

•  Do not use pesticides or insecticides in windy conditions. 

•  Pull diseased plants as soon as you discover them and 

    throw them in our garbage bin by the garage.  

•  Bucket your weeds and prunings and throw on the pile 

    along the tree line on the south side of the property.

•  The club places buckets around the property for the collection 

    of debris from gardens, which we collect and empty regularly.

END OF SEASON

•  All human-made objects such as hoses, string, wire, 

    cages, fencing, weed suppression fabric, garden art and 

    hose guards must be removed from your garden plot(s) 

    by the November closing date. Anything left behind 

    becomes the property of The Garden Club of Kent.

INDEMNITY 

Gardeners accept all risks associated with the use of the garden space and its environment and for their crops to grow. The gardeners shall not make any claim, 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, family, friends or their property.

The Garden Club of Kent is not responsible for any content 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 garden plots; manage reservations and payment 

    for plots; and make plot assignments.

Tilling & Brush Hogging 

    Disc and till all gardens (except permanent plots) by 

    May 31 each year to prepare grounds for planting.  

Plot Assignments

    Mark individual garden boundaries (16’ x 40’) and 

    number plots in the center of frontage.

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. All garden plot 

    renters receive via email The Garden Club of Kent’s monthly 

    newsletter, Backyard Pests.