So something else is at play here. Are we still running from our agrarian past and associating kitchen gardens with rural poverty? Is this at heart a design and image problem? Too often productive gardens bring up images of weedy disorder and thoughtless design. This is in part a matter of learning to see the landscape differently, to find beauty in diversity instead of manicured lawns. But it’s also a challenge to find fresh inspiration in kitchen gardens and edible landscapes.

 

Growing food well, in small plots for family and friends, is an art and a pleasure. I believe that one way or another we have to relearn how to live on the land. I hope this will happen for the best of reasons: for the beauty of kitchen gardens, the pleasure of tending plants and soil, and as part of our culinary renaissance. It would be very sad to see it happen out of fear and necessity.

 

I watched Yamile’s mother show her grandchildren how to plant, then admired the care they took in decorating stakes to mark the beds. Nearly all the garden is planted now, with a few spaces saved for flower seeds that the teachers will track down this weekend. They’ve scheduled a work party on Sunday to finish off the last of the planting and construction. We nearly finished the pergola yesterday, framing with a chain saw, working off oil drums and a couple of old wooden ladders. The remainder will go up quickly and easily, so I leave with confidence that all will be finished in a couple of days.

 

This has been an extremely satisfying experience which I hope to repeat soon. Restlessness is part of my nature and it’s hard for me to stay in one place. Why not continue to travel to build gardens for those ready to tend them? As I fly home tonight, already my thoughts are directed elsewhere.