By Terrie M. Roberts
Garden Apartments resident Martha Thompson has a green thumb. Fellow residents have reaped the benefits of her gardening skills for the past few years and will do so once again this year if looks of a thriving Oaks community garden are any indication.
The garden is located on the north side of Garden Apartments at The Oaks and consists of eight raised boxes 12x36 to allow not only abled bodied residents to garden but also those who use walkers or wheelchairs.
Anyone is always welcome to help plant, tend and enjoy the fruits (or vegetables!) of their labor, but this year’s garden is less a community effort and more a labor of love by Martha, with the help of Arthur Lloyd and Will O’Kray, of Campus & Grounds. Gardeners change from year to year as interest or abilities wane, but Martha remains steadfast in preparing the soil, planting the seeds and sharing whatever vegetables and herbs are produced thanks to an interest cultivated by her mother.
This year she has planted onions, lettuce, potatoes, mint, parsley, cilantro, tomatoes, bell pepper and beans, among others. “I’m going to have a good many tomatoes,” she predicts. And as always, what she produces will be shared with fellow residents.
“I love to share,” Martha says. She expects to have a bunch of lettuce to share with friends and neighbors in a couple of days and will continue to bring vegetables and herbs for all to enjoy as long as the community garden is producing.
Soon there will be blueberries to gather on bushes planted near MarketPlace at The Oaks and elsewhere a bed of zinnias for anyone who wants fresh flowers in their apartment.
Nutritious veggies and fruit and beautiful flowers. Gardening at The Oaks – one more way to enjoy this beautiful campus and reap mental and physical benefits as well.