Green Daily

(Photo by Hearthsong.com)

It's high spring and green is sprouting all around. This is the time of year that so many of us city-dwellers envy our country -- or even suburban -- cousins who have a personal patch of green where they can cultivate flowers, tomatoes, and rabbit-bait like carrots and lettuce.

One of the gifts of the green movement has been an increase in Community Gardens. While not limited to urban settings, they can be a great resource for people who don't have any other way to get their hands dirty. You can visit the American Community Gardening Association website to find a community garden near you.

Volunteering at a local park is another way to get a gardening fix. With budget cuts at the state and local levels, parks that depend on government funding will need volunteers more than ever. VolunteerMatch.org can help you find a flower bed that needs mulching in Chicago, IL, or a monument that needs tending in Austin, TX.

If your green thumb is desperate for ownership despite a lack of land, how about a windowsill herb garden? If you have a sunny spot and enough space for a few pretty pots, you can get a kit that lets you grow herbs or flowers in a confined space. Or you can make your own, using anything from empty jars to yogurt containers, a bag of seeds and some potting soil.