Donate To A Gardening Non-Profit

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Wish you'd paid less in taxes this year? If you itemize, contributing to causes you care about can count as a deduction. As 'America's Garden Capital', most of our area garden spots are nonprofits and depend upon memberships and contributions to keep the plants growing, the gates open, weeds at bay, and water running, while at the same time teaching children and adults about our natural world.

You can donate to big arboretums, small garden clubs, or the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which makes our everyday life more beautiful by 'Planting One Million' trees; helping more people enjoy fresh produce and turning vacant lots into lush spots all around the city.

So if you can manage it, why not make a donation to your favorite garden non-profit group? Then, this time next year, you might make it a deduction. And even if you can't deduct the bucks you donate and manage to lower your taxes, you and your neighbors will still get a lot of green out of it.