Watching Our Gardens Come Back to Life

Even when prevailing conditions would suggest that no growth should be able to take place, it does.

By Amanda Grappone Osmer

For weeks, we waited for rain. There were several days when it looked a lot like it might rain, and even a few days where the occasional drop fell, only to give way to sunny skies again before the laundry even knew what had hit it on the line.

We were all hearing about the dangers and irritations of drought conditions: dry wells, fires, dead lawns, failing gardens. Not having enough water is indeed a real problem. Water sustains life.

I was in our yard looking out over the green grass and burgeoning garden. No kidding, even in a tremendously long dry spell we’ve had, and with very little watering on our behalf, our yard and garden was brimming with life. They looked – and were – inviting.

How was this happening?

We are blessed to live in an area with a high water table. So even when the prevailing conditions would suggest that no growth should be able to take place, it does. Below the surface, where we cannot see, life-giving water is feeding the plants we painstakingly put out in rows, ensuring that even when the elements are harsh, the cabbage, kale, onions, beans, peas, tomatoes, basil, sunflowers and snapdragons can bring us delicious dinners and glorious cut arrangements.

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AND SO IT WAS WITH GRAPPONE during Covid-19, when everything was canceled, the political unrest, no sports for our children, racial tensions, massive unemployment, American cities burning, a presidential election turning a nation against itself. It could feel like a drought of hope, and it was exhausting.

How on earth could we survive through this, much less grow and thrive? How can a business that’s responsible for so many people, and that needs to generate so much profit just to break even, thrive in the face of such unceasing and depressing bad news and uncertainty?

I have the answer, and it’s shaped like a lobster.

One night during Covid, a handful of Grappone employees representing all of them said “thank you” to the directors by making and serving us a delicious dinner. We had appetizers, lobster and steak, and mouth-watering homemade desserts (which I wasn’t going to eat, but totally failed in delivering them to my family in favor of sucking them down on the way home—man, was it good!). We watched a video of many of you expressing your appreciation for how the company has helped you and your families through the Covid crisis. We received thoughtful local gifts and had a wonderful time catching up with one another.

TO SAY THAT THE NIGHT was special can’t possibly capture how it made us all feel. We were humbled. Grappone has its own high water table, a pool of resilience just below our surface that feeds and waters our mission, and it is refilled every time we smile, take care of our guests, respectfully listen to teammates who have a different view of the world and volunteer in the community. There are a thousand ways to fill the well, and when you do it ensures that our team will thrive in the tough times.

When I see the green garden that should be brown, I think of all the work that is happening out of sight to ensure the health of the precious vegetables and flowers.

Amanda Grappone Osmer is fourth generation owner of Grappone Automotive Group in Bow.