Look at the way those hands cup that melon tenderly, the fingernails filled with sweet, rich earth you can almost smell. I love that photo. It reminds me of that day Farmer D visited my garden and cupped my baby buttercrunch lettuces, one at a time, and transplanted them, tucking them in to their new homes safely. There is no denying the primal reaction we as humans experience when we cup dirt in our hands. Try it. Smell it. Feel it.
This evocative photo graces the cover of the FoodShed Summer Reading Pick of the Week-- Grace from the Garden: Changing the World One Garden at a Time, by Debra Landwehr Engle.
Grace from the Garden is divided into five sections: Gardens that Teach, Gardens that Nourish, Gardens that Unite, Gardens that Inspire, and Gardens that Heal. Through a collection of essays, we see the transformative power of gardens--from prisons to schools, senior centers to inner city neighborhoods. As Engle says in her introduction, "In many cases, these gardeners started with a simple idea, something anyone can do, and it grew into a project that altered people's lives."
If this book inspires you to plant a seed or find out more about the folks who are harvesting the bounty of the seeds of change they've already planted, you'll find a helpful appendix at the back of the book with addresses, phone numbers, web sites, and more.
Grace from the Garden is the kind of book I'd like to write somday--a book where I visit foodsheds and capture the essence of particular people on particular pieces of land who are making a measurable difference.
Published by Rodale Press in 2003, this small, friendly, easy-to-carry-around book is being printed for a third time. In the meantime, I see that Amazon.com currently has five new copies left. And I see dirt outside my window that wants my hands.
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