gardening creates community

the growing season may be short here but it always makes me smile the weekend when i go to buy all the plants. this year i decided to go big or go home. so justino and i built elevated beds because the place we rent is not quite conducive to gardening.

a few weekends ago, we built the beds in the drizzling rain and planted strawberries, chives, basil, oregano, rosemary, jalapenos, habaneros, small green onions, cilantro, and flowers (impatients, columbines, pansies) for some color.

there are a lot of small children (under five) that live in the area so i knew it might be a struggle to keep all the plants in tact. so far, in three weeks, we have had only one plant stepped on and a few flowers picked. i was not really worried about it. what i didn't expect was such a fascination by the kids in the plants.

every morning i hear little feet running over to the plants to see if a strawberry has grown or if any peppers are on the plants. i decided two weeks ago, when i stopped a two year old from touching the habanero plant that it might be a good idea for them to help out so they felt that the garden was theirs too. little did i know that it would turn into such a community of young gardeners.

since their new found ownership, they carefully look and touch

the plants withoutt breaking off any stems, they check them diligently for worms or lack of water. about five minutes ago a two year old was scooping out more soil from a bag and placing it gently around the columbines saying har, har, har... which i think translates to here, here, here. he left his pet dinosaur on the stairs. he didn't seem to want to play with him after he saw the large green watering can.

a five year old held the large watering can and watered all the onions and peppers w hile asking, what is this plant, while his ten year old sister supervised the process and added some dirt where it was needed.


after a while, a few more toddlers came to join us.

i didn't stop to think until today about the impact this small garden might have on these kids. i always grew up around gardening because it is something my mom loves to do. i realize that apartments are not the most promising place for a garden, but it seems to have brightened up the place and been a great incentive for all of us to get outside a little more. i can't wait to see their faces when there is actually a pepper and strawberry growing on the green stems.

what i love about these kids the most is their patience to let the plants grow and their dedication to coming over every morning just to check. since they feel like they have some stock in the garden, they take care of it. they watch with wonder and point out new leaves, or tr oubled plants, or plants that need more soil. they are observant, patient, and in awe. they make me smile and bring out the two, four, and ten year old selves that
reside somewhere inside. they make me want to play outside with colored chalk, and run through sprinklers.

it is going to be a great summer.