Have you ever had a dream to do something in a BIG way?
That’s how this Garden started for us - one dream to serve this community!
2019
Serving the community isn’t anything new to this church, and neither was the idea of a community garden. Plenty of members had talked about it over the years but this was the season for the garden to come to fruition. It wasn’t just a garden that was being built after all, but a ministry to serve others.
The goal from the very beginning was for the church to build a garden that would feed families in this community as diverse as the food that would be grown. In the beginning, we had no idea who these families were or how we would find them - we just took one step at a time and let those details unfold as went. The better part of 2019 was spent researching the types of material to use, how to go about constructing the fence and beds, and the most important thing of all - where to put it! Building something for the community meant it needed to be visible from the road and when we found the water meter in the large field facing Old Norcross Road, it was a no-brainer.
2020
A blessing - with only a few people on the property, we were forced to go a little slower. This slow pace led to much better results, forming amazing relationships! While the Garden was being built outside, many church members were fostering plants inside. We started a few hundred plants indoors from seed and sent them to a dozen homes to be "fostered" until it was warm enough to get the plants in the ground.
The Church board approved the Garden in January, and work began immediately. We built the beds in a garage while it was still a bit cold out, then delivered them to the site in early March. As we gathered volunteers to make this a reality, we were hit with the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
Building the beds
Preparing the site
Gravel between the beds
Adding the fence
1st plants in the garden
On Going
We added a flower garden surrounding the perimeter, the Shade Garden was built, and we hosted our first Spring Craft Fair & Fall Festival fundraisers in 2021.
What started as an ugly Tire Garden to protect the waterline became The Bicycle Garden in 2022, and we got our first beehive and built the Children's Garden. The bridge design began in the summer, water lines were extended to the Shade & Children's Gardens, and we harvested 955 pounds of food for families in our community. Also, that year, we figured out we could make crafts and other sellable items to help fund the Garden. The Foster Plant Program continued with a few changes, and we put a Garden Room inside the Church. The bridge was completed in 2023, two small ponds were added, and another 1,000 pounds or so of food was given to needy families.
We hope this ministry will continue to grow and be a blessing to members of our community. In 2024, we will open the Garden Market - A Gift Shop that will carry handmade items from people in this community. We also have plans to add a walking trail to the property that we hope can be built by a Scout trying to earn their Eagle badge. It is all about serving the community in whichever way we can. Click here if you’d like to stay up to date with us as we grow.
Although we did not know who we were growing the food for when we started, we soon figured out that we could grow enough to be a blessing to many. The Lawrenceville Co-Op receives the majority of our food and then distributes it to their clients. “Community Saturday” is what we call it when we hand out food to anyone who stops by while we are in the Garden on Saturdays. Many church members also deliver fresh-picked veggies to our shut-ins. Some food has gone home with elementary school children who were identified as being in need and we have even donated some of the food to Firehouse 20 just to let them know how much we appreciate their service.
It has been and will continue to be an honor to provide fresh food to families in need and to pour love & support into this community. You know the saying about the grass being greener on the other side of the road? It’s not true - the grass is greenest where you water it!