You’ve heard of Christmas in July? This is the reverse: Gardeners in February. The Boston Chapter of the Awesome Foundation is psyched to be celebrating two grants made in 2010 that support different facets of the community gardening movement on Friday, February 11, 2011.

Pick-a-Pocket Gardeners – Nov ’10 Fellow:

They are a stealthy bunch of civic-oriented gardeners who have mind melded with the Cambridge/Somerville Departments of Public Works to make neglected urban spaces purdy. We gave them the big green thumbs-up for uniforms, decoder rings, garden tools: whatever they need to make the magic happen. We’re hoping for capes too, but that’s up to them.

Ripley’s Garden for Others – July ’10 Fellow:

Thomas & Dawn Ripley started off with a 1,300 sq/ft garden. It didn’t take long for the produce to overwhelm their freezer’s capacity. They canned a bunch, ran out of storage space, and started donating the overflow to their local food pantry in Caldwell, ID. It was the only fresh produce the families and pensioners who rely on that organization got.

Inspired by the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from giving, Thomas wrote to us with a proposition.

“If I can feed a few, I can feed many more.”

The $1,000 bought a small used tractor. Next season, their garden will be 18,000 sq/ft. (14x garden space = 14x more food for the hungry!!!) Follow them on Twitter.

JOIN US: Friday, February 11th @ 7PM – Location TBD

SPREAD THE WORD: Know a person/org/company that’d like to be involved in this event? We’re looking for a venue and would definitely welcome beverage and food sponsorship. Email kara[at]awesomefoundation.org for details.