Beginning on Thursday July 9th, we are having a series of talks by The Grateful Gardener: Todd Breitenstein.  The Grateful Gardener has been gardening and landscaping since he was a child. Even his earliest memories at a farm house in Wenham,Ma. involve events closely associated with a family garden perhaps even if a bit entwined with  -the-sunflower-garden.

Growing up his Dad was always gardening, they moved around a bit and so at each different house Dad was building gardens from scratch or rehabbing old ones, even having a community garden plot along the way. Piles of horse manure arriving and being told it would help the plants grow.

To earn money he started trimming the neighbors sidewalk edges with hand clippers and mowing some lawns with the neighbors mowers. By the end of High school he and a friend were mowing twenty five to thirty lawns a week.

In College, studying environmental policy and ecological restoration and over summers working at Sharon Woods county park and golf course, his passion for landscapes grew. Perhaps it came from deep respect for the power of nature or the realization that there is a deep peace and calm in paying attention to the little things and seeing the mud, a plant turning towards the light, a bird nesting, caterpillar being dragged by a hoard of ants back to their nest, the dry space under a tree when it doesn’t rain more than the trees can absorb, or a beautiful garden. Learning always something from that sense of wonder.

Connecting the earliest memories, a childhood surrounded in gardens and lawns with education and personal observational experiences it is no wonder he formed a deep connection to the earth which, when given the five years at The Grateful Garden to plant and grow and test that his passion for sustainable gardening, soil life and permaculture, burst into bloom.

  

Goodbye Lawn - 07/09/26 6pm

Exploring Alternatives to Grass for Easy Landscaping

Gardening For Health - 07/16/26 6pm

Incorporate yoga, soil therapy, and mindfulness into your gardening routine..

Sustainable Gardening - 08/13/26 6pm

Discover eco-friendly gardening practices that support healthy soil, water conservation, and long-term resilience. Topics include biochar, sustainable products, regenerative techniques, and thoughtful garden inputs that work with nature rather than against it.

Reservation is requested to allow us to plan for enough seating for everyone.