This summer some folks in my neighborhood did the superhuman work of convincing the Parks Department to let us convert part of our park into a community garden. Okay, maybe the convincing of the City officials wasn’t superhuman, but the organizing and building of the garden certainly was. The timing was such that my job conflicted with all the building days, so I’m entirely grateful to my neighbors for their labor in building the beds, erecting the fence, and attending to all the other details.

Fifteen years ago I was an avid community gardener — and even the president of the board of Southside Community Land Trust, a great urban gardening group in the city.  Living on this side of town — without a yard to speak of — growing food was a bit of a challenge unless I wanted to drive across town to do it.  So, it’s been a while since my hands were dirty.  More, it’s been a while since I’ve harvested my own food.

I’m not sure I did the best job planning the garden or if it will really produce beyond some fun things — like tomatoes and herbs.  But, fun is okay.