This year, the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged many to attempt a flower bed or vegetable starts. Recent research has documented the significant physical and mental health benefits that can come from gardening. Monadnock region gardeners draw on the activity for their own wellbeing, and speak to recent collaborations with a number of local social programs.
“Working in the dirt sort of connects us to the earth and to something that feels solid and okay right now,” Peterborough resident Maude Odgers said. Odgers is a professional garden designer and the mastermind behind Peterborough’s town gardens.
That reassurance is especially important now, Odgers said. “Everything around us feels so un-okay,” during the pandemic, she said. Some people are dealing with actual losses while others are feeling the effects of the world’s collective grief. The grocery store has become a strange environment, as well as other public areas. Yet, “you can be outside and feel safe,” she said. “Nature is assuring us that life goes on. That part of the world hasn’t stopped.”
As a professional gardener, she returns to the garden every spring to see trees leafing out, spring birds, peepers, and bulbs coming up like they do every year. “Especially in New England where we have all these seasons and go through this long cold winter, spring is huge for us,” she said, and the excitement is palpable when seeing the first blossom or robin of the year. “There’s a sense that everything’s on hold, but spring is not. How can you not feel a sense of joy when you see apple trees in bloom or baby lambs on the farm. It’s a reassurance [that] life continues on.” This year, she believes a lot of others are experiencing it in a way they haven’t before. “People are noticing more and finding solace,” she said.
Odgers is in charge of the 14 volunteers who maintain Peterborough’s town gardens. It was especially important for town’s landscape to be a source of comfort and hope for people walking around outside this year, she said. Even while the coronavirus stays around, the town’s gardens and its people can continue to thrive and grow, she said. More than 500 bulbs planted last year came up in Putnam Park and the pavilion garden behind Toadstool, she said, and the group planted annuals around Memorial Day.
The Cornucopia Project has delivered hands-on gardening experiences for ConVal elementary students for years, Programs Director Lauren Judd said, but she’s recently been considering the additional benefits as the concept of gardening as therapeutic activity gains traction. Last year, she offered a collaboration opportunity with a counselor from Monadnock Family Services, so they could bring clients over to Cornucopia’s farm, which is next door to the facility. “Outdoor time is so important for people of all ages. The benefits are self-evident,” she said, to anyone who attempts it.
“Gardening is one of our functional support programs,” MFS Clinical Supervisor and Site Manager Jinsook Song said. MFS received three garden beds at the Community Center Garden in Peterborough this year, Song said, and they planned for a case manager to take two or three children out to the garden at a time. “Lots of the kids have anxiety or have been bullied,” she said, and working in the garden with peers or family can help them develop social and problem solving skills, as well as promoting outdoor play and interactions with nature.
Research suggests that families who engage in community gardening reported increased family time, and children played outside more and even ate more vegetables, Song said. “When it comes to something they grew their own, they’re more interested in eating it,” she said. Last summer, the Keene branch of MFS had a wildly popular program where small groups of kids visited local farms for activities like harvesting blueberries for smoothies, Song said. “Even staff wanted to join,” she said.
Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter also reserved garden beds at the Community Center Garden, Project Manager Susan Howard said. Families have planted gardens at the transitional shelter in the past, but even if they move out during the growing season they can continue tending their plot at the community garden, she said. “It’s a great activity for families to do together while social distancing,” she said, and staff are providing support for residents who have never gardened before. “Interest seems high,” she said.
Compost is a hot commodity as many people attempt vegetable gardens for the first time this year, Peterborough Garden Club member Trim Hahn said. The club had to cancel all its spring programming, but they keep getting new members anyway, she said, and they hope to resume their monthly lecture and workshop series in the fall. Hahn herself moved to a new home a couple years ago and brought some of her favorite plants with her, each with its own story, she said. Hahn filled a two week quarantine this spring by constructing a second patio in her yard, which she now calls her “COVID patio.” It was nice to be more creative with the new space, she said. “It frees you,” she said. “It’s a mindful activity. There’s a lot of repetitive [activity], but also a creative component.”