HUB Gardens 2026: A Celebration of Spaces
By Jack Parlin, CGC Program Associate
It’s a new year, and this mild winter weather has me longing for spring, when the year really starts off for me. The stillness of the winter garden provides the perfect opportunity to think with some clarity about the upcoming season. An empty garden bed is my ideal canvas, and I have certainly been scheming.
One of the things on my mind has been our HUB Garden series—the free, public-facing classes we hold throughout the summer in community gardens around the Cincinnati area. This year’s HUB series will include eight specially selected gardens from across our network that we have found to exemplify the mission of the CGC. Some are new; some have been around for decades—but each garden has something unique that we want to share with our community of gardeners.
We’re excited to include some new gardens in this year’s program, so I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to those gardeners I have not yet had the privilege to meet. I’m the CGC’s Program Associate, Jack Parlin, and I will be directing the HUB Garden program for 2026! I have always been a nature lover, and my journey through urban gardening and farming began in 2024 when I joined the CGC as an intern through Cincinnati State’s co-op program. I was studying horticulture and sustainable landscaping, and the CGC was the perfect place to put some of my new knowledge to use! Working with Urban Agriculture Coordinator Kymisha to teach in (but more importantly learn from) Cincinnati’s diverse array of gardens was what made me fall in love with the Civic Garden Center as an intern two years ago, and I couldn’t be happier returning to my role as a community garden educator!
Just as we here at the CGC look to our community for inspiration, I believe our programs have the opportunity to cultivate wonder and foster a connection to our shared natural world. To preserve the educational value of these experiences, I’ve decided to focus my efforts on providing one HUB class per garden: either a Tips, Tricks and Techniques garden workshop or a Healthy Harvest cooking demo. These events will celebrate the spaces you know and love. Like any good party, we'll also make some preparations to get things ready for the guests; volunteer workdays scheduled ahead of HUB events will provide even more opportunities to get to know and appreciate the gardens.
We will be releasing the full HUB Garden class schedule soon. I can’t wait to get back out there, and I hope you’ll join me!