- (207) 879 - 0028
- admin@bethaam.org
- 81 Westbrook Street South Portland, ME 04106
Plant Sale
A Garden's Bounty Shared
Congregation Bet Ha’am and the Garden Committee are understandably proud of the Bet Ha’am gardens. As congregants and visitors arrive, they are welcomed with a variety of landscapes. The courtyard gardens greet those going to and from the synagogue and provide a pleasant backdrop while in the social hall. The sanctuary garden and reflecting pool augment our connection to spiritual and emotional wellbeing while we are in services. Our raised beds, near the bio-retention basin, are part of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Harvest for Hunger Program. And we celebrated the burning of our mortgage by planting a new beech tree on the street side of the synagogue.
We welcome spring with a plant sale. This year’s sale will be held on Sunday, May 12, 2024. This is the Garden Committee’s primary fundraiser; profits from our plant sales help further our goals (see below). If you are working in your garden, planning a new garden and/or purchasing plants, please read below for the many ways you can share your bounty with us.
We will need plants to sell! All shapes, sizes, colors, floral and foliage types are appreciated, as are plants that thrive in the sun, shade, or a little of both. We love herbs and veggie seedlings.
Please Label your plant donation as it may be difficult to identify a plant that has yet to bloom or the foliage is just beginning to show it's true form.
The Garden Committee asks that if at all possible for donated plants from a home garden be bare-rooted. Ideally, clean the soil off the roots over newspaper and dispose of the newspaper and soil into a trash bin; then repot the plant with fresh, commercial potting mix.
If you are buying seedlings, annual flats or perennials for yourself, consider an additional purchase to donate to this plant sale. You can contribute up until the morning of the sale.
If you would like to volunteer at the plant sale, please email garden@bethaam.org for information.
Find that plant you have been looking for. Perhaps a plant you never thought to add to your garden or buy as a gift will catch your eye! Our knowledgeable staff will help with your questions.
The Garden Committee is always looking for people to help with our established gardens and beds at Bet Ha'am. Notices of tasks are posted in our weekly emails intermittently throughout the garden season; typically, the tasks lasts a few hours, with fine nourishment and company!
- To enhance, through the gardens, the spiritual experience of members and guests
- To design, improve, and maintain the synagogue gardens
- To nurture and create new ideas, as necessary, for the Bet Ha’am gardens
- To plant and harvest produce in raised beds to donate to food relief programs
- To support the congregational educational programs for adults and students as they relate to tending the earth