Loving the Variety

I left for vacation last week and stopped by the garden on the way to the airport to tie up loose ends. I was so impressed with the variety of planting patterns and techniques that I have been pondering all of the relationships between this and the community gardening concept as a whole ever since. We have square foot gardening, horizontal rows of greens, diagonal rows of greens, marigolds next to herbs, make-shift trellises for peas, and seemingly random (but probably not!) clusters of onions and collards. The best part is that it all works. The horizontal rows are just as bountiful as the diagonal, and the marigolds are just as beautiful as the herbs.


Herein lies one of my favorite things about community gardening, and it is one that I want all of our volunteers, neighbors, and readers to appreciate: No matter how you plant it, it will thrive with a little good ole' fashioned TLC. We have master gardeners, beginning gardeners, and those who just stick it in the ground and pray. Some swear by $6 heirloom tomato plants from the supermarket and others just use a seed. But what each of us have in common is a sense of ownership and pride over our little plot. When you give such a heterogenous group the common ground of fertile soil in which to grow, you reap wonderful relationships, juicy tomatoes, and a pretty good looking corner lot.

Come by to see our progress, and let us know what you think.