A Green Life

A Green Life

I had the pleasure of volunteering for two events in the same weekend recently. In fact, it was Earth Day weekend and so the causes were related to that.

On Saturday, I volunteered to give away flower and vegetable seeds, as well as starter plants at the Whitaker Center on behalf of an organization called the HomeGrown Harrisburg. This volunteer-led non-profit connects growers and gardeners, knowledge and resources - those who have it to those who need it.

I am a bit of a ‘lapsed’ gardener. I’ve been gardener my entire adult life, but recent duties have pulled me away from having any time to sit out and enjoy - much less work in - my garden. The first two years that I lived in my little stone cottage were spent outside virtually every weekend. My yard was a blank slate when I first moved here in 2010. I set to work adding many perennial and shrub beds, added a new river birch tree, a new sarvisberry tree, plenty of viburnums, and several varieties of willows. I planted a peach tree and a Richmond cherry tree, mostly as a food source for the abundant wildlife in my garden. I have hydrangeas, ferns, astilbe and dicentra and I keep a whiskey barrel by my back door for fresh herbs for cooking.

Hanging out at the hoop houses and raised beds at the OIC in preparation for the event, in addition to passing out the seed packets and starter vegetable plants all morning has really re-sparked my interest in gardening. My fellow volunteer, Sarah, and I met some great folks at the giveaway. So many that we met knew nothing about gardening other than that they wanted to grow a few plants on their front porch, balcony or windowsill. I hope we pointed them in the right direction.

We saw quite an age range, from senior to toddler, yet all of these folks showed an equal excitement at having received small tomato, pepper or cucumber starters, or amaranth, basil or squash seeds, to name a few of the items we gave away. I wish our new gardeners the best of luck and next year I hope all return and tell us they enjoyed learning about gardening and want to do more of it!

The other event that I volunteered for was to plant large bare-root trees along the Capital Area Greenbelt, over at the state hospital grounds. I must confess that I have never been on the Greenbelt at all and certainly wasn’t aware of its route that interweaves in and out of various city neighborhoods, sewing them together in a loose way, like a green thread.

I marveled that the area where we planted was literally on the other side of bustling Cameron Street in the heart of the city. Along the area where we planted was a creek, a wide swath of lawn and tall old-growth trees. I thought it was quite beautiful and I also left there feeling inspired, as I had the day before while giving away plants.

I have a bike in my shed with two flat tires that I probably have not ridden in ten years or more. I bought the bike in the mid 90’s when I lived in Boston. In fact, I vividly remember taking the T over into Cambridge, buying the bike at the mall, and riding it back to my apartment in the Fenway. I was reminded of how I used to ride through the Fenway, through Brookline and through Jamaica Plain, down to the Arnold Arboretum and back during those days, and I wonder why I ever stopped biking.

Maybe it is just temporary, but every day since, I’ve been cooking and eating more vegetables and walking a lot more. I’m looking into buying new tires for that old bike in the shed.

One of the best things about being self-employed now is that I get to decide how to spend my time - what matters to me. And I want to make eating healthier and exercising a priority, and just getting out and taking advantage of the green spaces and gardens we have throughout the city.

Today is gorgeous. I’m sitting on my back patio in 70 degree weather as I write this; is it any wonder why I am feeling so inspired by nature? The birds are singing and the groundhog that lives under my shed keeps popping out in search of food. I am basking in the ‘halo effect’ of having spent the majority of the weekend focused on nature and it’s done my spirit a ton of good.

When I signed up for these volunteer opportunities, I thought I was doing them a favor. But as it turns out, I was the one being granted the favor. Thank you, HomeGrown Harrisburg and Capital Area Greenbelt for allowing engagement opportunities to our residents. I hope to be back.