photos by Cassandra Harris-Lockwood
Newcomers to the Garden
“Can I water the plants too?!”
“We’re planting seeds!”
“Look at all the plants I found!”
“I want some collards!”
“Can I eat this?”
“Do you take a shower after this?”
The garden was buzzing with excitement on a recent Tuesday afternoon as the (? Rebuilding the Village Youth Group) made their first of many visits to the Linwood Gardens.
Many of them said it was their first time in a garden and they were all fully awake with excitement and curiosity in the mysterious edible landscape that surrounded them.
Right away they were eager to find ways to help out and get involved, watering plants, pulling out the finished peas, and seeding some lettuce along with filling empty water bottles with red currants, making lists of all the plants they could find, and packing up vegetables to take home.
A very hopeful and necessary experience for the youth to gain access to experience where food comes from and how to grow it themselves. With this knowledge growing in our communities we can grow in our strength and ability to thrive and be empowered into the future.
If you have kids or work with kids, start a garden with them! If that’s not doable you can also reach out to For The Good about making a visit to the Linwood or Jay Street Gardens, two thriving edible oases in the middle of your city.
Tuesday evenings in the Garden
For the first ‘Tuesday evening in the Garden’ we were joined by Herbalist Lisa Fazio in the Linwood garden to explore the bounty of medicine growing in the beds and wild around the edges. We met Peppermint, Lemon balm, Sacred basil, Ashwagandha, Catnip, Queen Anne’s Lace, and many more!
We then spent the rest of our time with a familiar culinary favorite: Sweet Basil. Well known for making pestos and sauces, Basil is also a valuable medicine. Basil’s name shares its origin with Basilisk giving reference to the dragon-like protection it can offer.
Lisa also shared an Italian saying “Where Basil grows, no evil grows” and shared a practice of planting your curses and frustrations into the basil to cleanse them.
Basil has been discovered to be antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, uplifting, antibacterial, and useful in alleviating stress, anxiety, and depression.
Lisa showed us how to make a simple basil vinegar by pouring Apple Cider vinegar over the sweet basil in a glass jay which would then be left to steep for a couple weeks and then strained for use in dressings or for drinking in water.
Come join us any Tuesday at 630 at the Linwood garden for some more garden learning! contact erindancor@gmail.com with questions
