Horticulture Programs and Resources

We live in a great green city, thanks to the tireless work of City employees and community members that toil in the soil year-round! The City of Rochester is proud to offer an array of horticultural programs and services.

Seeking Assistance with Community Gardening? 

The City’s Environmental Educator is your point person for questions about your community garden. For garden help and materials, contact Stephanie Benway.      

To apply for a community garden permit, visit the City's Garden Permit page.
 

Flower City Garden Workshops

The City's Flower City garden workshops are designed specifically for and tailored to our local gardeners and regional climate.  Offering a wide range of workshops fitting for experienced and beginner gardeners alike, we want to make gardening more accessible to you! All workshops are open to the public and free of charge. Taught by some of our most knowledgeable local gardeners, all workshops are currently being held virtually, followed by a live Q & A.

Spring Gardening Workshop:

These workshops cover topics such as Soil Health, Seed Starting, Companion Planting and more! Whether you are planting your first seeds or improving upon what you already know, these workshops will help get you ready to get outside and get growing!

Fall Gardening Workshops:

These workshops cover everything a gardener needs to know to prepare their garden for winter, including ways to extend the season, fall bulb planting, and how to preserve your garden harvests! 
 

Flower City Plant Giveaways

This twice-annual program provides plants and bulbs to community members planting in public, shared spaces on City-owned vacant lots or in City parks. In the spring, the city gives away annual flowers and vegetables and in the fall we give away flowering bulbs.

Flower City Garden Contest

Cleaner, Greener, More Beautiful!

Over the years, the efforts of hundreds of dedicated city gardeners and their contributions to making our city greener, cleaner, and more beautiful have been recognized through the Flower City Garden Contest. Any city gardener may nominate his/her own garden or a neighbor’s garden. 

Seeking Assistance with Home Gardening?

Cornell Cooperative Extension Gardening Helpline

When plant, insect and wildlife problems arise in the garden, who can home gardeners call? A team of trained Master Gardeners are available to help identify the cause of your problem, or give an answer to your question using Cornell’s experience and research knowledge.

You can reach the helpline by phone at 585-753-2555.