There are any number of reasons to host a gardening party. Perhaps you've just moved into a new home or need a drastic garden makeover. Maybe you've injured yourself and can't do the usual spring or fall garden work required. Or that new baby just doesn't allow you the time. Don't overlook those apartment or condo-dwelling friends that are longing for an opportunity to commune with nature! Or maybe you all just need to get out of the house and have some fun.
The plans will be required for an actual digging and planting type of gardening party. See the "Things to do in advance" section below. Other non-traditional Garden Parties:
You can even mix and match these types of themes - for example,
Invitations: The host/hostess will supply a large flowering pot or an inexpensive wheel barrow (even a child's wheel barrow could suffice). This will be used to put all the things in that the guests bring. See more tips on invitations.
If your garden plan is done, make copies of it to hand out to your working guests. Better yet, enlarge the various sections of the plan that different groups of guests will be doing so each group has its own piece of the sub-plan. Mark the edges of your new beds to be dug and/or planted with spray paint. Have all your plants, bulbs, seeds, and shrubs ready to plant (that means well watered too - and don't forget to ask your friends to bring spare plants that fit in with your garden scheme). Assemble all plants and equipment you will provide near the areas they will be planted in. Have the food, beverage and rest areas set up in advance too - umbrellas up, coolers filled, snacks that don't require refrigeration laid out (and covered to protect from dust and insects), with tables and chairs nearby this "rest station". Clear the way to the washrooms and cleanup areas. Have lots of soap and towels on hand. (The oxygen bleach for "unbleachables" is great for getting stains out of fingers and nails - so have some available, as well as nailbrushes.) Get a good first aid kit and make sure everyone knows where it is. Keep an extension phone handy and obvious in case of emergency. Make sure your address and phone number are ON the telephone.
It's fun to serve drinks in
new watering cans. Cut the tops off of large milk jugs or cartons, put an
empty wine bottle in center, add water and some pretty flowers in the
water and freeze. Cut the jug away from the frozen water, remove the
empty bottle, and "voila" a pretty center piece and wine cooler
all in one! Remember if using liquors to supply mixers. Be creative. For more menu ideas, see the Menu section in Theme Party Basics.
Inexpensive Chinese style lantern lights are good for area lighting. Citronella torches do double duty as insect repellants and lights. Low voltage or solar electric lighting is excellent for illuminating paths. Use your tiny white or yellow sparkly Christmas lights to outline arbors and trellises, or to line the walkway to the house entrance. For more decorating ideas, see the Decor section in Theme Party Basics. Music is a must once it's time to eat - even if it's only background music. The Ricky Nelson tune on this page is always a good one!
If you've asked guests to bring items to be used as "door prizes," plant swaps, etc., everyone who brings an item can put their name in a container you provide when they arrive. At the party's end, pick names out of the container and award each one a prize. Or, you can create a little garden game. When people arrive they will get a list of items that need to be found in and around the garden area. Assemble guests into groups or teams and being the scavenger hunt. Things to 'find' can include making simple items out of objects found in the garden. (E.g. daisy or dandelion chains, or anything that can be made from a plant or twig - without hacking your shrubbery to bits. Bug or small reptile hunts go over big with kids!) You can also assign teams to take pictures of odd things they come across, to forward the theme you have set for the party, or to "tell a story in pictures" (provide cheap disposable instant picture cameras for this - one per team). You can even have the teams create little "collages" of the team's pictures that "tell a story". Use a photo album with self-sticking pages for this. Provide waterproof ink pens and leak-proof paper for writing titles and photo captions. It takes some extra time for the host to prepare these kinds of games, but it is nice to be able to relax while everyone else is looking for items to be scavenged. (Or you can use the time to put out food or clean up!) For more information see Games and Prizes in the Theme Party Basics article. Be creative and remember - have fun and "stop to smell the roses"!
|
If
you need a lot of work done in the yard - you might even need a
"garden planning party" first. Invite all your
garden-savvy friends and have them bring along their know-how, garden
guides, catalogues, measuring tapes, and soil testing kits. Have graph
paper, rulers, pencils, and erasers on hand for drawing your garden to
scale. If you can draw your yard to scale in advance and make LOTS
of copies, that's even better. With the pre-made layout, the
planning will go much faster. Check out the 
A
plant trade is a nice idea too. Everybody brings one and everybody leaves
with one. Try one of these themes for your garden party.
You
can scan and print out pictures of seed packets or cut out photos from
seed and garden catalogs. You can also use pictures of gardening tools or
even use picture of your own garden. If you don't have a scanner go to a
craft store and buy nice paper. Cut the invitations to the size of a
post card to help with postage.
If
it is a working gathering, it is a nice touch if the host starts little
seed pots for each "helper to take home with them. Maybe herbs
or pretty annuals. The idea of a working party is that you will take turns
in each others garden pitching in and helping to get each others garden
started. 
When the work is finished or hungry
bellies roar, of course there will be a "thank-you feast".
Ideally, guests will bring some covered dishes and/or drinks. 
For
table set-ups, a small tables dotted about the yard are nice be cause it
causes people to move around and enjoy conversation. Set tables and
seating areas up in various parts of the garden so people can enjoy the
view and smell the flowers.