VA Patient Gardens is 2 1/2 acres on the Tibor Rubin VA Hospital in Long Beach, California.

It is a garden operated by the VA for the purpose of continuing patient rehabilitation after treatments ranging from surgery to mental health and addiction. There are a wide variety of flowers, fruits, and vegetables grown on the property. Patients come to learn activities related to gardening while they are going through the various recovery programs.

The garden has a limited operating budget. Local businesses and veterans organizations donate materials and money to help with the day-to-day expendables needed to run the garden. There are also volunteers that spend time maintaining the garden by planting flowers and vegetables along with pruning, mowing, and maintenance of the property. Without this, the garden would not exist.

The garden buildings are in need of refurbishing. The greenhouse has needed a new roof and walls for a number of years now. We were able to raise $3000 to replace the roof by asking for help through our volunteer network, Friends of the Garden, so to speak. Now it’s time to replace the greenhouse walls. We need $3000 for the material, and we have volunteer labor to do the construction.