Growing Connection In The Garden By Alicia Dominguez
T
he novelty of having a vegetable garden was a strong motivation eight years ago after our son Dominic had just completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. He mostly wanted to use what he learned in college. “Every backyard needs a garden,” he said. Dominic insisted a vegetable garden was necessary for his parents’ physical and mental health. Why not start a garden! And so, we began. While he was busy assessing a suitable location for our vegetable bed, I thought about how this project would connect my son and me. Indeed, human connection was the sweet cherry tomato on my freshly grown green salad. Season after season, the abundance of our red tomatoes, purple eggplants, bright green basil, and sweet onions needed to go somewhere. Many of our spring and summer season
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harvests were divided up and happily distributed to my extended family and co-workers. With every small lunch bag of cherry tomatoes I shared, I felt a connection grow with my work friends. There was always room to chat about garden dreams and eating healthier; every colleague had their own unique story. I learned about family food traditions and hopes of achievg their small gardens. A friend enthusiastically shared how she spent time at her father-in-law’s farm. The more she spoke about learning to drive a tractor, the greater her expression of joy grew. She smiled and laughed, showing her pleasure in seeing the rows of plowed earth. I could see her happiness in joining her family in their love of agriculture. Roxy, another co-worker, spoke about her grandparents’ garden; her childhood memories overflowed. Every seed,
