3 minute read
My Garden Story
Growing Connection In The Garden
By Alicia Dominguez
The 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 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,
every plant, every gardening season was a sweet tidbit of her youth and time spent with her grandparents. The gift of my cherry tomatoes gave me the pleasure of connecting with each co-worker, but more importantly, my colleagues inadvertently connected with their past or dreams of the future.
The vegetable patch transformed over time. For eight years, Dominic recommended what to plant and how much to grow. Each spring, our garden beds were filled with broccoli and cauliflower heads; the other beds contained various assortments of tomatoes and basil. While my husband and son tended the garden, my attention shifted to our two-yearold granddaughter, Olivia, or Livy, as her parents call her.
Olivia is my joy. Walking with her in our backyard fills me with love. Fortunately, the thrill of Olivia’s visits on Sunday is reason enough to visit our garden. So, we do. Before we know it, Olivia has become a fan of homegrown cherry tomatoes, which she gathers at a moment’s notice.
Olivia rekindled in me the love of harvesting our vegetables. During the summer and fall seasons, Olivia and I pick tomatoes, wash them, and eat them on our backyard patio. As soon as the broccoli and cauliflower are ready, Olivia, Grandpa Coco, and I take her basket and gather the fresh, beautiful green and cream-colored vegetables. In Grammie’s kitchen, she knows there are always fresh cherry tomatoes to snack on. Though Covid kept our family from restaurant visits, we, and most importantly, Olivia, continued to flourish and look forward to visiting Grammie and Coco’s garden in the spring.
This past December, Olivia and I spoke about the tomato and pepper plants she now grows at her house. According to Olivia, “Our garden is growing. We water the plants, and I check on them every day.” In my mind, I remember seeing lackluster plants. But in Olivia’s eyes, there is only success.
We now have three grandchildren–an even greater reason to continue planting our garden. Eight years later, our vegetable garden continues to be the source of our physical and mental health, but more than just tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflower, and broccoli, it’s a gathering place of love and adventure.
