3/2/09
Ordinarily, “community gardening” describes a group of people sharing a single garden plot. It’s a great way for folks without yards, or with limited resources, to get their hands in the dirt and grow their own foods and flowers — while making friends and building knowledge.
This year I’ll be enjoying the reverse of that arrangement: sharing three different gardens with two different friends.
We live at opposite ends of a mile-long country road. Each of us has plenty of space and has been gardening on our own for years. Over the past year, we’ve become better acquainted; and one day the lightbulb lit, and we agreed to share seeds.
That led quickly to a winter meeting over snacks at which we compared lists of what we have in stock, what we’re planning to grow this season from seed and transplant, and what difficulties we’ve had in the past. And what perennials one of us has that the other one would like, and what veggies we want that our spouses don’t eat so we don’t grow them, but the neighbor does . . . all leading to a promise of spring swapping.
One friend is an experienced seed-starter with a large grow-light arrangement in her basement and a lovely sun-porch nursery. She volunteered to start seeds for all of us, which is a boon for me because my garden is so small that seed-starting isn’t worth the effort yet I like to experiment with varieties that are hard to acquire locally. Now I can expand my repertoire with half the expense and effort, and have reason to visit my neighbors more often.
Gardening has always been interesting, challenging, gratifying, and educating, but doing it with neighbors provides a sisterly sort of fun I hadn’t realized was lacking. Our little group gives new meaning to “community gardening.” And it brings Spring a little closer, for although two months remain before we can plant anything, seed-starting can begin right now. A heartening thought when there’s still two feet of snow on the ground and nighttime temperatures hover around zero!
Carolyn Haley
Author: Open Your Heart with Gardens
Posted by: Opening the heart, gardens, gardening, yard, plants, cultivation, spring — Carolyn Haley
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