BENNINGTON, Neb. (KMTV) — It's officially spring and before too long flowers start seeing blooms. One Bennington woman takes that to heart, as well as classrooms.
3 News Now Reporter Molly Hudson met up with her and was curious to learn about her free flower kits.
"Some people send me pictures, of their kids with the little seedling, all the way up to sunflowers that are six feet tall," said Bennington resident Liz Johns.
Johns has always loved gardening.
"Seeing my kids watch it and watch my plants grow, it really meant something to me that I could spread that to other kids," she said.
In 2020, Ace Hardware in Elkhorn handed out free sunflower kits.
"Bennington was doing a really good job of quarantining and so I thought maybe I could bring some kits back if there is a couple (of) people that wanted some and that turned into more people wanted some. More people wanted some,” said Johns.
That year, Johns took the sunflower project into her own hands by making 300 kits. The next year she made 400.
"Last year I started getting into classrooms, daycares, so I just thought it was an easier way to send out more kits quicker," said Johns.
This year she plans to make 700 kits. Once she fills the requests of teachers and classrooms, the rest are open to anyone.
"I have a big tote that I put out in front of my house. I fill it with kits and people can just come by. I post it on Nextdoor and Facebook, my address, you can just come by and grab as many kits as you want," said Johns.
Ace Hardware provides all the materials and she includes simple instructions. The interest continues to grow.
"I always mix the seeds because you never know what you are going to get and that makes it kind of fun," she said.
Sharing her passion with kids around the community.
"It's just important for them to have that base factor of learning how to grow things and just kind of the magic of gardening," said Johns.
The best part for her is hearing from those who pick up the kits year after year.
"They always say that it brings them joy every year, that it's their favorite thing to do to start off spring, it means spring is here, that really is what keeps me going," said Johns.
If you want to get a sunflower kit, the best way is to reach out to Johns on Facebook or Nextdoor.
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