I love living in a place where the seasons are a vivid reminder that there is a rhythm to life. There is a season for long days and late nights, sun kissed skin, and sore backs from extensive planting and weeding. There is also a season where we turn indoors more and close down our yards for the rest of the winter.
There was much excitement in the Story Garden (35th and Humboldt) this past summer. We built boxes and planted more perennials, apple trees and plum trees. We built a bench in honor of Terry and Spencer Sanders whose home stood on this plot for decades, but was destroyed by the 2011 tornado. Many new neighbors came to help care and tend to the plants and field. The Boys to Men club worked multiple days to serve the community by helping weed and build our lemonade/farm stand.
More than the work of toiling in the earth, we hosted story times, a huge, successful street fair, and spoken word events. Bike tours came through, massages happened and we had meditation evenings.
It is exciting to look back and remember the growth of food and friendship, healing and hope that a communal garden can bring. We will be putting the garden to rest soon, but we plan on still holding the occasional bon fire, a night of Halloween fun, and edible Christmas tree event.
The Story Garden is committed to representing our community, so if you would like to be involved in planning events, designing the space, or helping decide what should be planted next year, contact Dani Tietjen at danielle.tietjen@gmail.com to be a part of the Story Garden team.