Montgomery County’s senior garden in Conroe has nine open plots, offering adults 55 and older space to grow produce, flowers and friendships. Tim Bactad is pictured with a squash from his garden.
Photo by Sondra Hernandez
Montgomery County’s senior garden in Conroe has nine open plots, offering adults 55 and older space to grow produce, flowers and friendships.
Photo by Sondra Hernandez
Montgomery County’s senior garden in Conroe has nine open plots, offering adults 55 and older space to grow produce, flowers and friendships. Okra is in abundance at the senior garden right now.
Photo by Sondra Hernandez
Montgomery County’s senior garden in Conroe has nine open plots, offering adults 55 and older space to grow produce, flowers and friendships. Tim Bactad is pictured in his robust garden on the property.
Photo by Sondra Hernandez
Among the bountiful fruits, vegetables, and vibrant flowers, friendships and camaraderie are also in bloom at the Montgomery County Texas Senior Garden.
The 11-acre community garden is open for those 55 and older, offering a plot of space to tend, grow and then keep the fruits of their labor. The senior garden is a nonprofit dating back to 1974 and supported by Montgomery County Precinct 1.
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A core group comes to the garden daily not only to tend their plots but spend time with like-minded retirees.
“That’s a big reason I come out here everyday is to sit and talk to these people,” said gardener and retired Conroe High teacher Chris Kattner. “It is a brotherhood and sisterhood and it is a draw to me everyday. It is not all about gardening.”
Randy Young said he’s got to do something in retirement as he ventures to the garden each day.
The plots vary in size but typically measure roughly 30 to 40 feet by 30 to 40 feet, and the county furnishes the water for the plots and dumpsters on the property. The property has a community building called “The Lounge” with a kitchen area, restroom, gathering space and workshop.
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There are also several storage sheds for gardening tools.
The senior garden began at the end of one of the runways at the Conroe North Houston Regional Airport, according to Don Finley, president of the nonprofit. It was originally called the Friendship Gardens and was founded by Alden Colston.
As the airport expanded, the garden moved to its current property in the early 1990s at 19654 Airport Parkway in Conroe near the Montgomery County Fairgrounds and Montgomery County Election Central.
There’s a one-time $100 fee for a plot and the regulars said this is a deal compared to other local community gardens that charge by the month.
When Kattner was a history teacher at Conroe High, science department head Frank Ray took him to see his garden.
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“I’ve never forgot that and I said I want one of those,” Kattner, who is now retired, said. He started with the gardening group in 2010 because a pool in his backyard prevented him from planting a full garden.
Tim Bactad, a native of the Philippines, has two robust corner plots in the garden.
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He’s growing some exotic items such as Okinawa purple sweet potatoes, peppers, squash, bananas, ginger, asparagus, foot-long beans, jujube, a Chinese date and a fig tree.
When he’s not helping children to school as a crossing guard, he can be found in the garden working with the many plants.
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They also tout the exercise benefits of being outdoors and working in the garden.
Young, one of the garden’s caretakers, said there are nine plots open. He said typically, they have a waiting list for plots but now they’re seeking gardeners. Other than their sign, word about the senior garden is mainly spread from person to person.
Interested gardeners can sign up in the lounge on the property or by contacting Young at 720-837-6638 or seniorgarden@currently.com.
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