Growing All the Things
The beauty of a community garden
Let yourself be drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.
—Rumi
I would not call myself a gardener; my thumbs have never been green. Yet, these past few years I have had dirt under my fingernails and enjoyed getting it there. I refer to it as dirt therapy; a way to take a break from the seriousness of life and play in the dirt for fun. Turning it into play brought about curiosity and a desire to seek out answers to questions I had about the things I noticed. That curiosity, mixed with my love of food and encouraging others to try real food, led me to volunteering at my local community garden this year.
From a distance, I had admired the plot of land down the hill from the playground grow little by little since its inception in 2012. From time to time I would walk down the hill with little hands clasped in mine so we could explore the progress of the garden. It was a place of organized beauty that invited you to look closer at all the details that went into making it an oasis of peace in our town. There were plots of vegetables, plots of flowers, various trees, a monarch habitation, a pollinator meadow, and an intricate water collecting system. Not only did beauty emanate from the place, but functionality. A beautiful purpose for its existence. Although I admired it, I never saw it as a place where I could be of any service. What did I have to offer to help in its growth?
The gardens of my grandparents and parents were wasted on my youth; I assumed everyone ate from gardens and I would always have access to fresh produce. They had instilled in me a love of real, fresh food, but I had not cultivated a love in the process of growing the food. Shopping at my local Farmers’ Market each year has allowed me to meet and to talk to farmers about the process of growing the wares that they bring to the market. In their talk of the work, there is also pride and passion. Last year I decided to try my first in-town garden. Nothing big, just a few tomato and pepper plants. Some herbs, arugula, kale. They grew! I was not prepared for the amount of joy I got from growing food that my family and I ate.
The gardening bug had bit me, so I was told. That is why the Indiana Community Garden’s post about signing up to volunteer caught my attention a few weeks ago. If I wanted to learn more about gardening, why not spend time learning in action? Plus, they practice harvest sharing so produce from the garden goes to our local food banks. I filled out the inquiry link, and within a few hours, Kay sent me a welcoming e-mail and invited me to join them that evening in the garden. I went. And I’ve been going back ever since.
Just as a variety of plants work together to sustain the purpose of the garden, so do a variety of volunteers. Each week I meet at least two new members of my community. Everyone brings a different background, a different knowledge base, but all bring a love for the mission of the garden. It is a place where you not only feel love growing, but you witness it, too. In the way a group of two or three fill and carry watering cans to quench the thirst of some plants that, “Don’t look happy,” according to Bonnie. Or how a group of six remove thistle from the pollinator meadow after a brief demonstration by Kay. There is Emily, a knowledgeable and dedicated college student with a reverence for all the different stages of the compost system. Marie, who wanted to share her love of a mache, a salad green popular in France, so she purchased some seeds to grow it in the garden for all to try.
I look forward to my Wednesday evenings in the garden; volunteering there alongside other members of my community is nourishment for my mind, body, and soul. When I signed up to volunteer, I expected to just learn more about growing plants, but I have come to learn more about my community by meeting new people and sharing a common interest. I feel myself growing, too, in new relationships and interests. Instead of looking at future opportunities to serve and asking myself what I have to offer, I am learning the better question to ask myself is: How can I grow from serving here?
What’s been nourishing me…
Mel Robbins’ podcast. I love her no BS manner of delivery that offers compassion and encouragement. Her episode on the concept of the “Let them” philosophy was spot on.
That beautiful, tasty mache lettuce. I cannot get enough of it.
The writing of John Irving. I finished The World According to Garp while on vacation last week. He is masterful with blending hard, dark themes with humor. His characters are unique and lovingly flawed; his plots are not predictable.