JOINING A COMMUNITY GARDEN

Community gardener harvesting a bit of greens from his plot.

Last November I decided to join a community garden here in town where I now live. There were a few spots available of both small and large plots. These plots were available for a twenty-five dollar donation no matter the size. I opted for the small size -- figured I could handle it better considering my ancient age.

After I paid my donation I took a stroll through the garden. All the plots had been pretty much bedded down for the winter. But I did spy something of interest to me. A tree stump that was being used as a sitting stool in the corner of one of the gardens spots. Why was the stump of interest to me? It was the sapsucker holes that surrounded the stump forming circular rows up and down the whole piece. I saw it as an example of nature's art in the garden created by a Red-Headed Sapsucker.

Here is a close up of the stump. View this excellent article (lots of fantastic photos) by Bird Note of the Western Red-Headed Sapsucker doing the things that Sapsuckers do. The most interesting part of this article is their relationship with hummingbirds. Enjoy.

MY 1941 SMALL COTTAGE HOME

My new home

Finally I have everything moved into my new place. Moving is certainly not for the weak at heart. 

As a result of an exhausting move I have a new mantra -- for every one thing that is brought into the house beginning now -- one thing will be subtracted from the house. This will keep my living sparse and simple. I have the basics and that is all I need.

As one can see in the photo above my place is a small, clean, vernacular place -- built in 1941. It sits on a ridge along the mountainous Oregon Coast Range near the Siuslaw  (pronounced sigh-YOU-slaw) River which is truly a wild river -- no dams in its forks to slow it down. Its run begins WNW of where I live and travels 110 miles ending in the Pacific Ocean. 

About fifteen to eighteen homes sit here along with me on this ridge. A private one lane road fronts the homes with a posted speed of fifteen miles. 

No one lives across the one lane road. It is a large open flat area to enjoy however with woods surrounding it. Also across the one lane is a large fenced area for a community garden and another fenced area for chickens if one is so inclined to have chickens.

 Fenced chickens along one lane road.

My backyard is small and flat, about 40 ft. X 25 ft. Where my yard ends at the back -- the tree filled mountain begins its climb gradually. 

A very small post office is just down the main road with limited open hours of nine a.m. to one p.m. Since the homes on my ridge are considered on a private road I had to purchase a post office box for my mail.

Our private one lane road

Sounds are occasionally some wind, very seldom a few cars or a truck, a dog's bark infrequently, a night fright train whistle ever so often all the while the river constantly softly roars and races its wild body of water toward the Pacific. 

Overall my place is peaceful, beautiful, and private. 

FULTON COMMUNITY GARDEN -- 100+ ORGANIC GARDEN PLOTS

Community gardener working in her plot.

Do you like to garden organically? Do you like to commune with nature in a healthy active way?

I am not familiar with this artichoke looking 
plant but found it beautiful.

Portland, Oregon answered the above questions by providing community gardens for its citizens in 1975 -- that have become very popular. All gardens across the city are grown organically -- all 50 of them. A small  plot fee is charged for the garden season.

Water -- the jewel of life for growing.

Some city gardens are small as few as thirty plots in them -- the largest city garden is the Fulton Community garden which has over a 100 plots for gardeners to sign up for. Many of the different gardens around Portland have a waiting list.

 Some gardeners spell out their feelings 
about nature by hanging Buddist prayer flags.

I recently visited the largest community garden in Portland with camera in hand to try and record its beauty. It was early evening and a few gardeners were out working their plots. 

Healthy zinnias

Chairs are scattered throughout the garden for gardeners to sit a spell or also for visitors to do the same.

A gardener's personal work station in their rented plot.

I bumped into a gardener named Ashley that I had met a few days before when I visited Fulton to see what the gardens were all about. During that visit she gave me some fresh chard from her garden -- During my recent visit to take these photos she sent more greens home with me -- such hospitality!

How can anyone look at sunflowers and not feel better?

Does your area have organic gardens available for its residents?

AGING BEAUTIES

Not far from where I am living is a large community garden. Patterns of rectangles set the garden in proper order. Dirt paths have become a menagerie of weeds yet still define the borders around the individual small plots  Together all the plots appear to me like a college trial garden -- a little bit of this and a little bit of that -- a botanical community.

The Mammoth sunflowers were still standing tall when I recently walked through the aging plant plantation that was devoid of humans. The sun shown down on the garden giving the sunflowers some of their last breaths of "growing" light. Mammoth's stand very tall with one gigantic seed-filled head  -- a bird feeding paradise. If the heads bend to the ground small mammals enjoy the bounty. 

What I enjoy about sunflowers is their ultimate beauty as they age through the growing season. Fall brings their dark seed heads -- advertising to birds, "here is my sustainable gift to you. -- come and enjoy,  I will give to you like the sun, rain, and wind has given to me through spring and summer." 

They remind me that one can still give the gift of nurturing in the fall season of their life.