Gardener Story: Jaime Jones
This is our second year in the build it up program, and we are grateful for the experience. This program has given me a reason to get into the garden every day, even on the days I don’t feel like it. Some days I don’t do much but water and watch. The birds and bees and insects. The delicate tendrils happily winding their way up the guidelines, the hummingbirds darting and buzzing all around. The volunteer plants that come about without any help from us, determined to grow. I know the path the sun will take over our little garden patch all year long. I feel reconnected with mother nature.
The knowledge from the Build it Up program is so relevant and valuable, especially today. I tend to get overwhelmed with the amount there is to learn and do, so this year I focused on growing what we know we like and what has been successful in the past. Tomatoes and peppers and herbs. Cucumbers, watermelon, green beans, squash, zucchini, and sweet potatoes, all of which can be trellised to save space in our small garden.
One of my favorite things in the garden this year are the whimsical seed heads on the leeks we let go to seed from last fall, the pollinators love them too. Seeds are literal containers of magic. They can sit quietly for years staying small, and given just a bit of love and attention, they manifest seemingly out of thin air into food and medicine that nourishes our body and mind and gives us life. It gives me a real sense of amazement power and security to know how to grow our own food. What a gift!