Green Doors Blog > Garza Gardens at Pecan Springs Commons
Diana Welch
Diana Welch joined Green Doors in November 2011. As development associate, her goal is to help spread the word of this organization's mission while expanding community awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness. Through her careers as an author, journalist, and communication consultant, Diana's professional passion has always been telling stories, be them her own or someone else's. In 2009, she and her siblings co-authored a memoir called The Kids are All Right, which recounts from four first-person perspectives the experience of being orphaned and separated as children, only to be reunited as teenagers. The memoir won the 2009 Alex award from the American Library Association and was featured on Good Morning America, People Magazine, and elsewhere. Preceding publication of her book, she worked at the Austin Chronicle as community editor as well as a reporter specializing in issues such as community activism and subcultural movements.
Garza Gardens at Pecan Springs Commons
The true beauty of a community garden lies within its very name: community. The act of gardening with your neighbors not only provides food and beauty, it also provides a sense of fellowship and well-being that is so integral to a healthy community.
That’s why we were so excited when our regular community garden volunteer Martha Cason asked if her Garza High School horticulture class could contribute to the Green Doors gardening community by designing and installing four garden beds as part of their final semester.
The kids presented their designs to Pecan Springs Commons residents at the weekly Resident Council Meeting, where they learned that folks were partial to purple flowers and wanted some perennials thrown in the mix. The students were knowledgeable about their designs and receptive to community feedback. “I was impressed with their creative ideas and use of color when planning the garden,” said Lucrece Pierre-Carr, the community manager at Pecan Springs Commons. “Now we have two new perennial beds and two new vegetable beds.”
“Yeah, we made two pretty and two edible,” explained Sydney, one of the handful of 10th and 11th graders who worked over a period of three days to install the approved garden designs. “Well,” she said smiling. “They’re all pretty, actually.”
The first day was spent sharing shovels and trowels to dig up some stubborn grasses that had sprung up over the winter.
The next day, everyone came back to put the plants in the ground.
When all was said and done, a mix of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs filled two boxes,while graceful purple and yellow perennials filled the others. “The end result turned out beautifully,” says Lucrece. “I love the purple and yellow perennials!” But even more importantly, Lucrece is happy that the kids reached out and offered to spend time helping others in their community. “I was personally excited for them as we met because I know that providing a community service that positively impacts people is truly a rewarding experience,” she says. “They’re young and I’m not even sure they realized the impact of what they were doing, but I’m hoping that they continue on this path of helping others.”
We are so thankful for all the time and effort that the Garza Gardens class spent setting up a these beautiful community gardens for our residents to maintain and enjoy – and would like to send an extra special thank you to Martha Cason, who generously offers ongoing gardening support to the residents of Pecan Springs Commons!