Giving Gardens: Grow & Give Back 2025
2025 Giving Garden Registration is Now Closed
Thank you for your interest in the Giving Garden Program! 🌱We are no longer accepting new participants for this year.
If you missed this year’s sign-up, we encourage you to stay connected for future opportunities. Sign up for our newsletter or follow Illinois Extension for gardening tips and updates on next year’s program.
For any questions, please contact the McLean County Extension Office at (309) 663-8306.
Vegetable and flower gardens are a highlight of Illinois summers. Many families lack access to fresh garden vegetables or the cheery gift of flowers. Offer gifts of the garden to your community this season. Illinois Extension Giving Gardens offers free seeds, plants, and education to gardeners who pledge to donate 50% of their harvest to a friend or neighbor in need. Spread the joy of a Midwestern summer’s bounty when you Grow and Give Back.
Illinois Extension Free Giving Garden Kits
Vegetable Kits
- Cottage Kit: Plants: tomatoes (2-slicer, 2-cherry), peppers (2 bell, 2 jalapeno); cucumber seeds
- Container Kit: Plants: 2- cherry tomatoes, 2- Corno di Toro peppers; basil seeds
- Fusion Kit: Plants: 2-tomatillo, 2- Fresno peppers, 4- kale, 2- eggplant; okra seeds
Flower Kits
- Cut Flower Seed Kit: Cornflower, Sunflower, Cosmo, Zinnia, Dill, Calendula
Please note that vegetable kits are limited at this time to one kit per person.Â
Registration also includes an e-newsletter with monthly garden education, including informative videos to help you grow a healthy, productive garden all season long (May - September). Participants will also receive access to a tracking system to record their vegetable and flower donations. Kits are for residents and organizations in Livingston, McLean, and Woodford Counties.
Illinois Extension Giving Garden Kit Pick-up Dates in each county will be announced via email in April.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact the McLean County Extension Office at (309) 663-8306 or by emailing Kayla Powers at kgree6@illinois.edu.