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Five therapeutic garden programs have been selected for 2026 grants totaling more than $7,500, with awards ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. Rising Light Project received the largest grant after a two-week online public vote organized by National Garden Bureau and program sponsors.
Five therapeutic garden programs have been selected to receive grants totaling more than $7,500 through the 2026 Therapeutic Garden Grant Program, National Garden Bureau announced with sponsors American Meadows, Ball Horticultural Company and Sakata Seed America. The awards support gardens serving people with disabilities, mental health needs and other participants through horticulture-based programming; the winners were chosen after a two-week online public vote.
Rising Light Project in St. Charles, Illinois, placed first and will receive $3,000. It provides educational day programming for adults aged 22 and older with disabilities who have aged out of traditional support services. Its garden functions as an outdoor classroom, where participants learn about horticulture, sustainable gardening, biodiversity, nutrition and environmental stewardship while developing social, vocational and life skills.
Hope Clubhouse of Southwest Florida, based in Fort Myers, received second place and a $1,500 grant. Its Urban Garden of HOPE is part of a member-driven program focused on recovery, wellness and workforce readiness. The structured Work-Ordered Day program uses meaningful work and peer support to build skills such as communication, time management and responsibility, according to the program description.
Three runners-up will each receive $1,000: Eagle Mount in Bozeman, Montana; Homesteads for Hope in Rochester, New York; and the NC Botanical Garden’s Farm at Penny Lane in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Their programs serve people with disabilities or cancer, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and adults living with severe and persistent mental illness, respectively. The grant announcement describes activities including year-round growing, accessible sensory gardening and trauma-informed therapeutic horticulture.
Where the Grant Funding Goes
The awards provide direct funding to five programs that use gardens as part of educational, wellness or therapeutic activities. The largest award is $3,000, while the remaining grants range from $1,000 to $1,500. The source announcement does not specify how each recipient will spend its grant, so the precise projects or purchases the funding will support are not yet known.
The programs represent different approaches to garden-based support. Rising Light Project links gardening with life and vocational skills for adults with disabilities; Hope Clubhouse connects garden work with recovery and workforce readiness. The three runner-up programs describe horticulture as part of year-round participation, sensory engagement or mental health support. These descriptions come from the grant announcement and outline the programs’ stated aims, rather than independently measured outcomes.
National Garden Bureau said the funding allows recipient gardens to continue and expand their work. The organization also encouraged support for therapeutic gardens from industry, local communities and individuals. For readers and potential supporters, the announcement identifies programs in five communities and makes their stated services more visible.
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A Public Vote Chose Five Finalists
National Garden Bureau said it has provided resources to therapeutic gardens for 13 years. The 2026 recipients were selected from finalists following a two-week online voting period. The announcement does not provide the number of votes cast, the full number of applicants or the voting totals for individual gardens.
The selection process also involved judges who reviewed applications and narrowed the field to five finalists. The named judges were Isabel Fuenzalida of Sakata Seed America; Alicia Green, Buehler Enabling Garden Coordinator, associated with Chicago Botanic Garden Corporate Giving and Ball Horticultural Company; Nancy Ketchmark, owner of Flowers Contained; Barbara Kreski, retired director of horticultural therapy at Chicago Botanic Garden; and Tabar Gifford of American Meadows. The announcement does not describe how the judges’ finalist selections were combined with the public vote.
The grants are presented by National Garden Bureau in partnership with American Meadows, Ball Horticultural Company and Sakata Seed America. Additional information about the five garden programs is available through National Garden Bureau, according to the announcement.
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Grant Spending Details Not Released
The announcement confirms the recipients and award amounts but does not say when grants will be distributed, what specific costs each award will cover or whether recipients must meet reporting milestones. It also does not publish vote totals, voter eligibility rules or the number of applicants considered.
The programs’ descriptions explain their intended services and activities, but no outcome data or evaluation results were included. It is also unclear whether the gardens plan to add services, increase participation or purchase particular equipment with the funding. Those details would be needed to assess the grants’ practical effects after distribution.
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Recipients Put Awards to Use
The five organizations are the announced recipients of the 2026 grants. The source material does not give a distribution schedule or identify a forthcoming public update. National Garden Bureau says additional details about each garden are available on its website, and the organization has encouraged continued community and industry support for therapeutic gardens.
The next concrete information to watch for is from the recipients or the bureau about grant timing and planned uses. Until that is shared, the confirmed development is the selection and award amounts, not any specific expansion or measurable result.
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Key Questions
Which garden received the largest 2026 grant?
Rising Light Project in St. Charles, Illinois, placed first and will receive $3,000.
How much funding was awarded altogether?
The five awards total more than $7,500: $3,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $1,000 for each of three runners-up. The announcement gives the total as more than $7,500 rather than an exact overall figure.
Who are the other grant recipients?
Hope Clubhouse of Southwest Florida received $1,500. Eagle Mount, Homesteads for Hope and the NC Botanical Garden’s Farm at Penny Lane each received $1,000.
How were the winners selected?
The public voted online for two weeks. Judges first reviewed applications and narrowed them to five finalists, according to the announcement. It does not explain how the judging and public vote were weighted or provide vote totals.
When will the grants be distributed?
The announcement does not provide a payment schedule or say when recipients will receive the funds. It also does not list specific planned uses for the awards.
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