"If You Leave Them, They Will Rake"

I held the final Open Garden last week. Now, I'm not saying that I won't still have folks over to my garden for lunch or after school and that there won't still be plenty of opportunities for children to dig and plant and learn. I'm just saying that Open Garden has run its course and I am now ready to take what I have learned there and apply it elsewhere, in scalable ways that may perhaps touch more people.

The mix of Open Garden participants was completely different than just a couple months ago. Yes, there were one or two neighbors, but the rest of the people were my new "sustainability" friends--the entire team from Sustainable Peachtree Corners and the writer of Sustainable Alpharetta (in his snazzy orange hybrid car) all came, as did three other people I had never met before but had collaborated with on local sustainability initiatives via email. It even rained right before the start time of Open Garden, yet all these people came. There must have been about 30 people total.

We planted garlic and pansies. We made butter and paper. We measured the 18-feet that Lake Lanier, Atlanta's water source, is low. And I shared seedlings since many of these people have their own kitchen gardens as well.

But then, near the end, I looked to see what was engrossing the children so much. And there they were. Raking. Raking a big pile of leaves in which to jump. Raking a path through the leaves through which to walk. Raking, raking, raking. Working together. Laughing. Even as the rain started coming down again, they continued raking. I had left four rakes against the fence and as they say in the movie, Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come." And I stood there and thought to myself, "If you leave them, they will rake." And it's as simple as that.

Alone in my kitchen after everyone left and darkness descended quickly, I thought about how much my life had changed this past year, since the first day I threw my garden gate open and invited in neighbors, friends, and a long line of strangers who are now part of my life. Last week's Open Garden participants showed up bearing some of the most simple and precious gifts I could imagine--a bag of arugula from the Cane Creek Farm CSA, some half-filled packets of Seeds of Change seeds, two butternut squashes from Charlotte's CSA, homemade vegetarian soup from farm-fresh ingredients, and fresh-milled whole-grain cookies and muffins. I realized, that just as water seeks its own level, so do people, and I had finally found like-minded people who want to join me on the journey to increase food security, learn and transfer almost-lost knowledge, and make a difference in the sustainability of our communities and our world.

And so the rakes are staying out there for awhile. And although Open Garden is now officially done, the garden gate will swing wide open far more often.

Here are a few past posts about Open Garden:

"Your Life Is an Occasion. Rise to It."

One Blooming Potato Flower at a Time

Something New, Something Beautiful, Somewhere Else

"If You Leave Them, They Will Rake"