BONNERS FERRY — The 9B Gardening Club, found on Facebook as the Boundary County Gardening Club, has been growing and will continue to establish strong roots in the community, one project at a time.

The gardening club recently held its first meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Memorial Hall building at Boundary County Fairgrounds and plans for meetings in the coming months to discuss everything from mushroom growing to pollination.

Stephanie Ross, BCGC coordinator, said she has seen an increase in membership from 16 members in 2017 to about 100 in February 2021.

Last year saw unprecedented seed sales due to people picking up gardening because of COVID-19 quarantine and stay-at-home orders. Many seed companies struggled to keep up with demand.

People are gardening as a relaxing, family-friendly hobby that also saw fruit and vegetable seed sales jump worldwide.

According to research conducted by Stoneside Blinds & Shades revealed in a survey that 54% of people wanted to have something else to focus on as a reason for buying plants and gardening.

In that same survey, 27% of people indicated gardening helped reduce their stress significantly over the last few months, and 43% indicated their stress had at least declined a moderate amount.

Ross said that people are independent-minded and want to learn to garden and learn gardening in the county by those experienced and knowledgeable.

People taking the time to talk to their plants more often were 3.5 times more likely to report their stress had decreased by a great extent during the pandemic.

The Boundary County gardening club offers free membership for new members and a $10 due for returning members. It provides an array of topic pieces and provides a place for people with a green thumb to come together.

According to the Freedonia Group, which conducts market research, Many – though not all – new participants in DIY gardening activities are expected to continue with the hobby beyond the end of the pandemic.

The increase in landscaping is expected to support demand for lawn and garden consumables over the long term.

As gardening activity increases, it will boost demand for lawn and garden seeds used by consumers and support demand for live goods purchased from nurseries.

An important nursery in Boundary County is the Moose Valley Farms, which offer their goods for this spring season.

According to Ross, gardening club members have been helped by having access to seed swap groups, the University of Idaho Extension office having a seed bank, Carter Country providing starting soil and help from experienced gardeners.

Many people getting into gardening are often confused on where to start, but the 9B gardening club is a group of people with “a really great energy” Ross said, “people are pleased to be together.”

If you are new to gardening, no matter the age, the gardening club aims to help the next generation of gardeners.

“That’s exactly what we're here for, prepare the next generation of gardeners and pass down the knowledge,” Ross said.