June 18 Garden Tales

As we weeded and planted and harvested in our garden today, I thought a lot about the stories that the soil and trees could tell. Our garden is on top of the hill at the Eagle Heights Community Garden, giving us a grand view of the gardens below. But we’re new here, especially compared to the old oaks that watch the gardens and the soil to which we entrust our little plants. What have they seen over they years as thousands of gardeners have eagerly descended in the spring? Do they share the intense excitement of the first-time gardener and the equally intense frustration at the seemingly impossible task of controlling weeds? Do they recognize the wise gardeners who have held the same plots for years? Do they have a favorite plot- one that has amusing decorations or a creative stick structure or beautiful plants? I’ll never know the answers to these questions, but once in awhile it’s nice to wonder at the seemingly magic survival of our plants that start as weak little babies and grow stout on top of the hill, beating the odds against the wind, rain, and hot sun.