Community Garden Glory

A SAR creative writing assignment on the story of your project in 10 years (Winter 2020)

Community Garden Glory 

“What’s that?” Rosemary turns to her friend, Dill an, pointing at the jane b semel community gardens. They’ve been basking in the sun all day at Sunset Rec and just now noticed the plots lining the top of the amphitheater. Dillan shrugs and lays back down on his towel, too focused on the rays. Rosemary pulls herself up and wanders up to the gardens where a student is planting in his plot. 

“Hey, is this a community garden?” “Yeah! I’ve had a plot here all year. It’s great, check out my lettuce!” Rosemary admires the bountiful produce growing in his plot and asks about how he got involved. 

“Oh, I found out about this place at the Teaching Kitchen. I took a class there and we made this amazing pasta dish with herbs grown right here! Julia, the teacher, went on to talk about the benefits of locally grown food and cheap dishes to make with easy-to-grow herbs and produce.” 

“Oh cool, that’s exactly what I need right now! School has just been such a constant stress, I really need a place like this to go to unwind and garden. Plus, fresh produce sounds delicious and I love cooking so I wonder if there are some cool recipes to look into! Not to mention, my wallet has been a bit thin… buying fresh produce from Whole Foods is not always feasible when I’m also trying to save up for Coachella.” 

The next day Rosemary applied for a spot in the community garden and started researching which plants were best grown in the spring on the HCI community garden website. She decided on lettuce, kale and peas and got to work watering her plants every day. The garden became Rosemary’s space to connect with nature and feel grounded when school became stressful or overwhelming. She befriended the student, Herb, who introduced her to the community gardens and together they attended Julia’s Teaching Kitchen classes. 

When Rosemary produced her first yield, a full head of kale, she invited Dillon and her friends to her apartment for a celebratory dinner. Dillon brought his fresh eggplant to help recreate one of Julia’s infamous recipes: Roasted Eggplant with Crispy Kale. Rosemary’s friends were skeptical of the concoction of healthy greens and vegetables but after one bite they were convinced of the wonders of the community garden! 

The following year Dillon and Rosemary applied to co-teach a one unit Teaching Kitchen class for students. They wanted to emphasize the therapeutic benefits of gardening, the sustainable benefits of locally grown food, the financial benefits of growing your own food, and the health benefits of encouraging one another to use recipes with fresh produce. The students loved the healthy alternatives brought from the garden and followed Dillon and Rosemary’s steps to getting involved in the HCI community gardens. 

The End 🙂