BRINGS RESIDENTS TOGETHER THROUGH GROWING, GIVING BACK At the Fountain Hills Community Garden, they believe that “many hands make light work.” It says so right on their logo. And if those hands happen to be covered in dirt, well, all the better. “If you’re a gardener, you just want to get your hands dirty,” Rita Applegate, one of the garden managers, said with a laugh. “I want to plant a seed and watch it grow because I believe in tomorrow.”
The vision to create a community garden space originated with Dr. Jyoti Patel, who enlisted Rita’s help to make the dream a reality. Now in its fourth year, the garden contains 123 beds, six of which are ADA compliant. Rita shares duties for managing the Community Garden with Joy Hubbard. Seven other community members serve with them on the Garden’s board of directors. Two of the three beehives added a year ago were donated by the two Rotarian Clubs in town. Audra Waddle owns the bees and sells the honey, and the gardeners appreciate the gift of on-site pollinators. But the gardeners there do much more than just tend to their own garden beds. As a community, they sponsor a healing foods series on the first Monday of every month and five of the Garden’s beds are designated as donation beds for the Extended Hands Food Bank. Rita said the Garden’s success is the result of many generous community donations and hundreds of volunteer hours.
Michele McGuinness, Maricopa Co. Master Gardener and FHCG member, talks to a group of future gardeners about composting.
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“I think it’s one of the most positive, joint community efforts that’s happened in Fountain Hills in a very long time,” Rita said. “It continues to be a good thing and I think we need a lot more of that.”
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