When Community Spirit Goes Hand in Hand with Community Service

Two cherry tomatoes ripen
in my community garden. 
But then I ate them.

Whew! We have quite a hot spell in Greenwich, CT. Temperatures climb above 90 degrees daily and a couple days they hit almost 100 degrees. At my community garden bed, I pluck two orange cherry tomatoes from my plants. I'll savor them later. (Another lesson learned: Pick tomatoes when they are ripe. Patience!)

Whereas my cherry tomatoes enjoy the heat, I do not. I have trepidation about fulfilling hours of community service in such extreme heat. Staying inside seems safer and more prudent than working outside in searing temperatures. But I am intrepid, so at eight in the morning on Independence Day, I head to Armstrong Court community garden to pitch in on beautification work.

Diane Tunick Morello, Ann Shifman-Deibler
and Clare Bolduc (l-r)

The mission today is to strip stubborn vines, weeds and branches from the fence surrounding the garden. The vines are impressive. They coil upward five to ten feet, form choke-holds around apple trees and shrubs and snake into the wood chips of the community garden. As we work, Clare, Ann and I chat about our garden beds, our lives in Fairfield County and our experiences with the community gardening spirit. Without a doubt, conversation makes the heat feel less oppressive and helps the job go quickly.

The next day I head to the Bible Street community garden for late-day weeding as part of the beautification team. I pass a (blurry) deer munching happily in the bushes as I drive down the dirt road. When I enter the gate of the garden, on the other hand, I feel as if I am walking into a wall of heat and humidity. 

The beautification work at this garden is tough. Seven or eight of us kneel and squat to remove weeds from the gravel surrounding the raised garden beds. Thankfully, conversation makes the work tolerable (um, cold water would be great). We introduce ourselves -- new gardeners and seasoned gardeners alike -- share our community garden experiences and check out the harvests in our respective garden plots. A few people tell me they read the blog, which makes me a happy camper.

My takeaway from this week's community service is simple: Community spirit -- a chief reason to sign up for the community garden experience -- pervades the work we perform, regardless of the nature of the work. It lifts us up and makes the hard work easier to handle. That said, next time I'll be looking for less back-breaking work. Ciao for now!