The time has come to finally say goodbye to our beloved garden.
As most of you know, the property where we had the garden was being temporarily leased to us by the owner until he was ready to build. At the end of last year we were notified that the lot was going to be built out with three homes as originally planned. We decided to do one last planting for the fall/winter and make the best of it before the garden needed to be moved. Even if it was bittersweet, the last few months of the garden still provided adventures for the few remaining souls participating.
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| Amy, Anna, and Norm helping for Happy Hour Gardening |
Over the last two years that little plot of land has brought so much joy, friendship, and experience into my life that I will forever be grateful for. Although not always easy or fun (aka watering for 2 hours in 103 degree weather), cultivating the garden was always extremely rewarding and the return was ten-fold.
Some one recently asked me what my favorite part of the garden was and I realized that it was actually the people. Rarely did I harvest anything from Bogarden- I have my own vegetable garden at my house, as do many of the volunteers that help out. For me, the garden really was about the sense of community. Over the last few years, I spent at least two days a week at the lot poking around, watering, harvesting, and weeding. Every single time I was there I would end up meeting all kinds of people that walked by- a few of which became volunteers and even friends. On workdays, it was even more inspiring experience, with dozens of people voluntarily giving up their weekends to help out. The Bogarden was a place where people from all walks of life could come together to learn, teach, share, laugh, relax, socialize, and have a positive experience. It is my hope that the Bogarden has inspired others to look around their city and no longer see empty lots but instead imagine future gardens.
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| Darlena helping out in the circle. |
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| Miss Slyvia helping weed the beds. |
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| The year of the tomato. |
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| The Wildflower Border. |
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| Teaching everyone how to harvest sweet potatoes. |
Thank you so much to everyone that made the Bogarden possible- it has been such a great part of my last two years in Charleston. In the words of Fritz, "This is the end of an era" and every time we pass the corner of Rutledge and Bogard, we will remember fondly that "there once was a garden there."
