If you are sharing several things, someone needs to be in charge of knowing where everything is usually housed and who is using it at the moment. Most gardeners have their own hand tools, so the things shared are usually the larger, more expensive and less frequently used items such as shredders, blowers, seeders, de-thatchers (if you are determined to do your own) etc. Other things that might be shared, but not owned by the group could be a heavy duty hand drill and auger for planting bulbs, small utility pump for emptying watergarden pools needing to be cleaned, or an electric edger or hedge clipper. Those owned by the gardeners who regularly use them could be shared when needed for extra help from the borrower. I would be glad to share my power drill for a companion to help grub out dandelions or clear the grass from between the concrete pads of the walk.
Mostly the idea is to be a pool of labor for the group - to labor with not for each other. We all know that we love everything about gardening, but sure wish we had help with a few chores like leaf raking, winterizing an extensive rose bed, pruning a hedge then shredding the clippings or planting more than just a handful of bulbs. Lawn mowing is an exception. Only when an NGC member is ill or on vacation should the members take on that responsibility. Mostly regular lawn mowing isn't an easily shared experience anyway.
When a member is ill or on vacation others in the NGC can carry temporarily carry their load. There just isn't anyone that can easily be hired on a short time basis. Who will water containers, pick ripe vegetables, or mow the grass for a couple of weeks only? Years ago, a farmer who lived in our county was injured in a tractor accident at the beginning of his harvest. His wife had a medical problem and couldn't do much physical work, so his friends and neighbors came to the farm every day for several weeks to get in his crop and care for his animals while the family was struggling to cope with his injury.
Hopefully, our NGC won't be put to that kind of test, but when I go on vacation, I love knowing that someone who cares as much as I do about plants is looking after mine. I gladly look after theirs in turn. This concern for each other's gardens naturally translates into being more aware of what goes on in our neighborhood, so we are more likely to notice things that depart from the usual.
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