Community Garden

I don't remember exactly when the idea of a community garden was born, but I know I was immediately interested.  I have always loved to garden - I grew up enjoying the toils of weeding around the green bean plants and harvesting the summer squash.  Mom would make the best zucchini bread and the loaf would be gone in one sitting.  As an adult and homeowner, I have had differing levels of success with my own backyard garden.  Every year I have it in my head to get started, and it doesn't always work out the way I plan.  Some years are better than others and I have successfuly grown many things: squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, herbs, radishes, beans, peppers, lettuce...  But the idea of a community garden at church was very appealing to me because of many reasons.  Cultivating new earth has the draw of the fresh and untouched canvas to work on.  A gentleman kindly tilled a large section for the six women who expressed interest in participation.  We met after service one Sunday and chatted about the promise of this new venture.  Should we get a fence? How will we regulate watering?  What will you plant?  Standing there in our Sunday best beside the newly-tilled earth was a new way to communicate with other.  We are like-minded in that we have an interest in growing vegetables and we could be as individually invested and creative as we wanted.  Over the next several weeks each of us would go and fuss with our plot.  I planted 33 tomato plants.  Barb, across from me, planted a variety of sunflowers, squash, tomatoes, and marigolds.  She and her son showed up one day while I was there and to him I pointed out a cricket here and a toad there.  Sandy showed up one day while I was planting and she put in lettuce plants while we talked about Christian education.  Tracy came one evening and weeded with me - I had just run the sprinkler to hydrate the soil and loosen the weeds so we got pretty muddy.  It was late and the bugs were starting to come out.  I haven't seen Suzanne, but she has a cute little birdhouse erected in one corner of her plot.

After the initial planting and weeding visits came the daily watering errands.  The first one was a chore: find enough hose to reach the far yard behind the church, locate the missing spigot handle, figure out the sprinkler... 


The hose I brought was about 20 feet short to reach the garden. I was so frustrated.  I called my sister from my cell: "Please come help me - there are so many toads and I'm all by myself I am strapped for time and...." I'll be right there,  she said.  She showed up in her work clothes.  We ended up filling a bucket dozens of times and watering each plant individually.  She started talking to my tomato plants in a British accent telling each one, "You're lovely!" and now whenever we see each other we use the same tone and words to greet each other. 

One time I picked up my mom and brought her to the church to water with me.  We sat in the columbarium garden and prayed for my hospitalized father-in-law.  I pray anywhere: in my car, in the market, in bed...  but praying in the church garden has a sacred essence that soothes.

I have found a new nightly ritual that has become the highlight of my day.  Each night for the last week or so, my daughter has accompanied me to the garden to set up the sprinkler.  While it feeds the plants, we walk.  We set our phones to map our walk and we walk fast, talk fast, laugh, sweat, and pump our arms like serious walkers.  We track our progress, hoping to best our time each night.  All the while strengthening our relationship.  "This is fun" she said, "we should do it every night."  My 17 year old daughter said that.  I can't think of a strong enough word to express my delight in her sentiment.

From this endeavor I intended to reap the benefit of fresh garden tomatoes.  They are just starting to form fruit from the delicate yellow blooms. I didn't anticipate the other benefits I've enjoyed along the way.  Fellowship with women: all sisters in Christ - the women at church, my mom, my sister, my daughter...