The Harvest

This blog is coming to an abrupt end. And there are definitely some loose ends to which will remain untied. For one, my research is leading me to conclude that community and gardening are not mutually exclusive to defining the extent to which social capital is enforced nor are community gardens spaces (places? both?) that are beyond importance to the city. Spending some time in local gardens has given me a newfound appreciation of what is going on the city, and to some extent, what is at stake when they are undermined. I had no idea how much it is a passion for many people, and secretly, I've become increasingly fascinated by their presence in the city.

The most significant thing I've taken away from this whole process is how to discover. To use a completely obvious metaphor, sewing a crop takes investment that may or may not have a guaranteed return. So it is with this research, that I took a chance in really trying to harvest little of the vast "crop" that is out there. Symbolically, I bought into a little plot and risked being unmet in my desires and requests to discover. I sent out twenty or so e-mails, and more than half responded, some provided a lot of information, some less. But I learned that answers aren't so difficult to attain. I found that people are genuinely desire to answer my questions in whatever capacity they can.

In my first post, I wrote that community gardens may be part of the story the city tells, and as I reflect on my almost metaphysical hypothesis, I would have to wholeheartedly agree. Community gardens are part of the city's autobiography, and in Assignment 3, I will try to make at least parts of the story intelligble.

For now, I encourage everyone to discover the part of the city where the grass is certainly, literally and figuratively, much greener than you originally may notice or expect.