Get Ready for Spring, Portsmouth!

Spring is just four days away, the days are now brighter and longer and soon thoughts will be turning to sprucing up lawns and planting flowers and gardens.

For those who would like to take their love of gardening a step further, the Portsmouth Garden Club is now accepting applications for $500 grants to create or maintain historic gardens, gardens in public places and other conservation projects.

The many flower gardens that residents and visitors enjoy in places such as Prescott Park, Strawbery Banke Museum and elsewhere around the city are often maintained by volunteers and the grants provide an opportunity for people to use their green thumbs to add more beauty to different parts of their community.

The grants are being provided by the Festival of Trees fund, which is a bi-annual event held at the Urban Forestry Center, according to the Portsmouth Garden Club's website. The deadline is March 22 and the grant committee will make their selections on April 8. Applications can obtained on the garden club's website.