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vegetables

Our Gardening, Ourselves

March 4, 2015 by The Inside Press

Digging for Information on How We Tick

By Dr. Rachel Levy Lombaragardengestalt5

Grab a pen, a fingertip, or whatever you typically use to write (eyeliners are acceptable). Answer this question: How do you garden? Don’t think, just respond. There are no wrong answers. I promise.

I am not asking how one gardens (i.e., with a shovel) but how you personally garden? Your answer may be anything from“with delight” to “only at gunpoint.” (Worry not if the closest you get to gardening is the fake ficus in your foyer, you can still play. Choose any activity and write down three adjectives that describe how you (insert it here) train squirrels, craft whiskey or make shoes for elves.

Got it?

Okay, what did you write down? Look at it carefully and see if what you wrote about how you garden (snowshoe, make gummy bears) doesn’t bear an uncanny resemblance to how you do almost everything.

Amazing, right?

This parlor trick works because the way we do one thing is the way we do everything.

I asked my accountant, Rose, how she gardened. She tapped a few keys on her computer and swivelled the screen toward me. On it was her “garden” spreadsheet, rows and columns of numbers that indicated the dates she planned to seed, transplant and harvest the dozens of vegetables she grew. She clicked to a computer generated map-to-scale of her garden; it was a virtual planned community of vegetables. The photos she then pulled up showed Rose in her glory wearing high rubber boots, knee pads, gloves and what appeared to be a beekeeper’s hat and veil. I asked and no, she doesn’t keep bees. I could only assume that she was as cautious as she was prepared in her gardening.

When I asked Rose if organized, meticulous and safe described other things she did, the question was largely rhetorical; I had marvelled at how the crumpled, stack of receipts, bank statements, tax forms and errant candy wrappers I dropped off each year were returned to me in the form of a pristine completed tax return. I think she may have ironed the pages.

I have a tendency to place people who garden like Rose on a pedestal. Her methodical approach is a complete foil to my kamikaze one, marked by vision (minus preparation), (over) confidence, single-mindedness and (blind) optimism. I never wear a hat or gloves, instead sporting a colorful array of insect bites, rashes, cuts and bruises. Compared to Rose, I grimace at how quick I am to “go out on a limb.” Still, I wonder, how else would one set up a tree swing in a jiffy?

Which reminds me of this important rule; do not let yourself fall into the comparison hole; it is dark, low and unpleasant. You can never win. Yank yourself by the scruff of your neck out immediately, sit yourself down and remind yourself of all the great things you have done. For example, after seeing Rose, I say to myself, “Rachel, your unique combination of moxie and madness may worry your family and annoys emergency room personnel, but no one has ever called you boring and look at all the awesome things you have done!

“You are a maverick,” I continue, knowing that I am not yet convinced. “You have run marathons, accumulated degrees, played guitar in a rock and roll band and made two complete human beings from scratch, all by yourself, and without even thinking. If that isn’t amazing, then I don’t know what is!”

Patterns of behavior, like the roots of plants, run deep. The quote I chose, seemingly randomly, for my high school yearbook was this: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” It strikes me as uncanny that some part of me knew, over thirty years ago exactly how I would live my life. There is genius in all of us, even if it isn’t always immediately apparent.

Bud is quick to undertake big projects in his yard, throwing in time and money before deciding that the project is over his head and bailing. When I asked him if this mirrored how he did other things in his life, his face went ashen. He made the connection that his approach to dive in first and assess later had left him in a precarious financial state. He decided to try pausing before leaping at the next business deal. This tiny change minimized his misfires, while, capitalizing on his willingness to take risks, dramatically improved his bottom line.

Unearthing our root patterns is, in psychology speak, a process of making the unconscious conscious. Doing so gives us a freedom and creativity to behave and respond in ways that we weren’t aware existed. It allows us to tweak and prune.

But put away your machete. The key is small change. Each root holds an innate wisdom. As any gardener knows, you never want to damage a plants’ roots.

Gardening offers us glimpses of the invisible strands that weave the various parts of our lives so seamlessly together into a stunning whole. Marvel at nature, appreciating the tiny things for the huge lessons: tiny blades of grass that manage to poke through concrete.

Dr. Rachel Levy Lombara is a clinical psychologist in Chappaqua. She has been described as “down to earth” and full of useful tools for gardening and life. She prefers to work quickly and effectively.

Filed Under: Et Cetera Tagged With: Gardening, Landscape, Plants, vegetables

Inch By Inch, Row By Row

August 16, 2013 by The Inside Press

How A Garden is Helping the Community Grow, One Plant at a Time

By Julia Desmarais

Volunteers hard at work in the Chappaqua Community Garden
Volunteers hard at work in the Chappaqua Community Garden

It’s a warm summer day, and you’re strolling through town. You pass Starbucks, popping in for a quick Frappuccino to keep the heat away. You continue on your walk, crossing the street, passing Susan Lawrence, and sipping your drink. It is a gorgeous and lazy day–you have nowhere to be, so you are letting your feet lead the way. Across the street you see the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and then something else catches your eye–right next to the Ambulance Corps (on its land, in fact) is a fenced-in area buzzing with busy men, women, and children. Curiosity gets the better of you, and you cross the road–beautiful flowers, rich green lettuce, and lovely little herbs fill your vision; the smells of fresh water, dirt, and plants fill your nose. Plant beds made of wood or surrounded by stones are lined up throughout the space, each with small paths cut through for walking, kneeling and growing; nets are hung up for cultivating beans, and there are signs staked in to give the plots a “homey” feel.

Everyone is busy. Some are bringing piles of plant matter over to compost bins, some are digging out the pathways, some are weeding, and everyone is helping in some way. You are at the Chappaqua Community (emphasis on “community”) Garden on one of their work days–when everyone who has a plot stops by to help out with general garden maintenance for an hour or two. Started by Suzi Novak and InterGenerate in the Spring of 2011 when she noticed that some Ambulance Corps workers were growing tomatoes in the space, this garden has been a wonderful addition to the Chappaqua community.

Now in its third year, the garden is home to 22 beds, all of which are filled with various plants. There are relatively few rules that govern each plot, as everyone builds theirs differently and grows different things. There is one very important rule: everything must be organic. In addition to these beds, there are four special beds known as the “Giving Garden.” Everyone who has a plot in the Community Garden volunteers time here, and the food gets donated to people in need.

Dr. Susan Rubin Photos by Alina Wang
Dr. Susan Rubin
Photos by Alina Wang

While organically grown vegetables are good for everyone, they are especially important for growing kids. If you want your kids to eat healthfully, get them out to the garden. It’s organic, it’s fresh and delicious, and it’s something that they’ll want to eat. As Dr. Susan Rubin, co-chair of the Chappaqua Community Garden, health professional, food and garden educator, environmental activist and local mother said, “When kids grow food, they eat food.” The great thing about this garden is they can grow the food. There are gardeners here of every skill level, and others who are always willing and ready to help.

The community feeling at the garden is a special one and is truthfully the real draw for gardening experts and novices alike; advice sharing, potluck dinners, and seed swaps at Local are only some of the many activities to participate in. Cameron Kelly, a long-time gardener, gardens at home but also has a plot at the Chappaqua Community Garden. She loves the opportunity the town garden gives her to meet neighbors, learn from them, and be a part of the community that has been created there. “The most important message,” she shared, “is that everyone can do this.” Yes, gardening is a skill, but it is a skill that anyone can learn, green thumb or not. Susan’s advice coincides with this–start small, she suggests, and grow herbs. They are very easy to grow, and great to have!

The Ambulance Corps and Chappaqua Paint and Hardware understand the value of the Chappaqua Community Garden, and both have been very generous with their help. The Ambulance Corps has given land and a water supply, while Chappaqua Paint and Hardware has supplied hoses and put in a shed to hold the gardening tools. It has really become a huge, welcoming community affair in which the whole town is involved.

Rubin is very happy with how far the garden has come, and she hopes that in the future it will expand as more residents discover the benefits and excitement of the garden. Her dream is to move it onto the Chappaqua Crossing property someday, where it can be bigger and better. With enough support, there is no doubt that this would be a successful endeavor and an extraordinary benefit to the Chappaqua community, as seen in what the garden has achieved already.

If you would like to get involved with this amazing venture, you can contact Susan Rubin through her website, www.drsusanrubin.com, or Suzi Novak through her email, suzin@jsgnovak.com.

junie bookJulia Desmarais is a senior at Horace Greeley High School. Growing up, she loved the Junie B. Jones books.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: community garden, healthfull, organic, vegetables

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