Helping Kids and Vegetables Grow in the Family Garden

Posted in Exhibitions, Learning Experiences, Programs and Events, The Edible Garden on August 21 2009, by Plant Talk

Toby Adams is Manager of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.

Vegetables and kids: two of my favorite things, growing together in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden! Each year we open the gates of our one-and-a-half-acre garden to thousands of children and invite them to help us in our annual effort to grow thousands of plants.

Sitting here now, among the tangles of tomato vines heavy with fruit and rows of sunflowers standing tall, it takes a leap of faith to believe this site was nearly bare when we began. Only a short time ago, I’m certain I was sitting in this same spot bundled in countless layers of thermal fabric with my eyes closed imagining the fragrances that envelope me now, straining to hear the drones of the pollinators patrolling the plots, and wondering at what point in the summer the garlic leaves would collapse under the weight of themselves.

A little over one hundred days later, my imaginations have been realized. The freshly harvested basil leaves stain fingers with their pungent perfume, the bees are busy buzzing in and out of the squash blossoms, and the garlic has already been harvested, braided, and hung in the garage to cure.

It is important for me at this time to stop and reflect on how we arrived here. This scene was created through the hard work of many small hands and countless child-scaled projects. Throughout the spring and summer, our welcoming staff of dedicated instructors and volunteers has shared the challenges and joys of gardening with each of our young visitors. With endless patience, creativity, and enthusiasm, they encouraged hands to dig holes, helped direct seeds to be sown, and guided the construction of trellises to support climbing vines. Hundreds of wagons have been filled with compost sifted one trowel at a time, and many bales of hay have been hauled and distributed carefully to mulch the growing plants. With the summer harvest season in full swing, our agenda turns to sharing the skills of harvesting. Baskets are now carried by wide-eyed visitors searching for ripening fruits, made possible only by the previous efforts of our young visiting gardeners.

I am privileged to be a part of sharing the teaching and learning that this garden affords, and I hope you discover the lessons to be learned here to be just as meaningful. As another winter season looms less than one hundred days away, I encourage you to find the time to visit us, pick up a trowel, and help us take care of the plants in the Family Garden.

Vegetables and Kids in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is open daily Tuesdays through Fridays, 1:30-6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., through September 13.