Growing Community

I'm not a very bold person. I've always been introverted and shy.

Wall-flower, party of one, right here.

I want to be more intentional about talking with my neighbors and creating community, but it's hard for me to strike up a "random" conversation.

That's one reason I LOVE garden season. It gives me a reason to talk to my neighbors when I bring them little gifts from the garden. I pray over our garden and ask that the Lord would use it to bless others. I try to plant what I think others will like so we can share it with them. It doesn't always go/grow well, but we're learning so much.

(This year we tried to plant tomatillos to share. Fail. Turns out you need TWO tomatillo plants for cross-pollination. Who knew? Merf. We'll try again next year.)

Here are my tips for giving gifts from your garden:

1. Herbs are pretties. Herbs are seriously the easiest things to grow. Too dry? No problem. Not enough sun? Not an issue. I bring my scissors out and cut of whole pieces (rather than pick off leaves) and then I tie them together with a little twine. Pruning back your herbs usually helps them spread and grow too. Win-win!

2. Hold on to containers. I picked up some berries from the farmer's market in that cute blue basket. I kept it for weeks until my tomatoes were ready. It worked perfectly.

2b. Pick up the super cheap baskets at the second-hand store. I need to do this more. It's such an easy way to make a quick gift feel deliberate and thoughtful.

3. Ignore 1 and 2/2b and just grab handfuls of veggies and herbs and schlep them over to your neighbor's house. But really. Its the heart that counts. Not the extras. The extras are really for me. I love making things pretty.

Now, who wants tomatoes and community?