Kansas City woman with green thumb growing hope

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Mary Roudner is a woman with a green thumb and a heart of gold working as a coordinator at the Kansas City Community Garden at 6917 Kensington Street.

With the help of her staff, Mary has been quietly transforming the community garden there into a crown jewel.

“I started as a volunteer,” Mary explained. “Now we have wonderful walkways, iron gates and an incredible assortment of plants, herbs, vegetables and flowers."

Mary also conducts tours in the Beanstalk Children’s Garden.

“We have the kids touching the plants, smelling the plants, tasting the plants,” she said.

“For me it’s so important because I watch the light bulbs go off over kids heads as they understand oh this is neat, this is fun, wow, I didn’t know a garden was this much fun,” she added.

Mary’s work has also impacted the community of Kansas City.

“We have poor people coming and renting plots to grow their own vegetables,” she said. “We’re helping people one garden at a time eat better, eat healthier, and eat cheaper."

The Kansas City Community Garden site has more information about  garden tours, and how to get help starting your own community garden.