It's The Final Countdown...

My days as the Family Gardening Coordinator at DNDA are coming to a close, and I've been making the rounds to meet with residents and get them some final resources before I leave. At Croft Place, I worked with one of the residents to complete some final projects, putting in two benches, leveling out some of the perimeter areas, carving some steps into the landscape (see picture), and transplanting some flowers and shrubs. It was a great way to end my time at Croft, seeing so many changes that drastically improved the aesthetic of the garden area. Not to mention all our veggies and herbs are growing great with the vast improvement in weather. The resident has already harvested and eaten tons of chard, spinach, and lettuce. We both ate some strawberries and they are so sweet and juicy, it's incredible. The heat has been especially good to the squash and cucumber plants. It was tough saying our goodbyes on our last work day, but we sipped some iced tea together after a hard mornings work, which was a nice way to end.

I stopped by Delridge Heights yesterday because I was having trouble getting in touch with the two women there who actively garden. I had an extra tomato plant that the kids started indoors during garden clubs and no space at any of those three properties, so I brought it with me to Delridge Heights. If you saw one of my previous posts, you know how great the lettuce, broccoli, and carrots are all looking in their garden. The spinach plants and some collards went to seed due to the sudden heat, so we took out a few plants, making room to plant some new seeds. We filled some empty spaces with tomatoes (the one I brought as well as some plants she had started indoors) and peppers that she started indoors. Today I dropped off some collard, cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, and corn seeds to fill up the rest of the empty space.

I had also been trying to get in touch with the woman at Holden Manor who has been incredibly successful with her windowsill herb garden. She had expressed an interest in getting a second container and growing some more herbs. Her phone was disconnected, so I dropped by today to see if she was home. I had a windowsill container for her that I filled with potting soil, and had stopped to pick up some herb seeds on my way. She was feeling under the weather, but was super excited to have a new container. Her basil and chives were still looking amazing, and I brought her some parsley, oregano and marjoram to plant as well.

All three of those goodbyes were difficult and bittersweet. I'm so happy that they are all comfortable with where their gardens are at right now, and that they're using the stuff they are growing. It's also incredibly rewarding to hear how appreciative they are and how sad they are to see me leave. It truly affirms all the work and energy I have put into this job over the past 10+ months. Next week will bring closure at some of the other properties and will most likely be even more surreal.