Originally our first garden workday had been scheduled for April 26, but nature likes to play tricks on us here in Minnesota and snow forced us to reschedule for the next Saturday. Friday brought cold, dreary rain and I was beginning to think that our garden workday would be canceled again. I checked my e-mail before I went to bed, but there was no word. I woke up Saturday morning to a bright and sunny, if chilly early May morning.

I wasn’t sure what to expect on our first workday. I didn’t really know what we would be doing, or how many people would be there, but I figured it would be hard work, so I made us a nice brunch of French toast, fruit and some fantastic bacon from a local sausage shop. Then my dad took the kids out for the morning and Zach and I headed out to the garden.

Lisa, the garden organizer, and Terry, the workday leader, greeted us. We were the first to arrive other than the two of them and we got right down to work. I picked up trash while Zach and Lisa laid plastic down for the paths and Terry hauled woodchips to the paths in the wheelbarrow. Over the next half an hour another 20-30 people showed up ranging from small children to people in their 50s and everyone just dug in and started working. I ended up hauling wheelbarrows of woodchips and Zach shoveled woodchips and later compost. We got a chance to talk to many of our fellow gardeners while we worked, all of whom were interesting, friendly people. It was fun to see so many people pulling together to make the garden a beautiful, functional place.

The result was amazing. In the course of two hours we cleaned up the whole garden, weeded the compost, removed dead stuff from the flowerbed, moved two large compost piles, spread compost on two plots near the street that were in need of some help and created all new paths. It’s incredible what you can do when you pull together.

Last year our plot belonged to the owner of a local restaurant. He mainly used the space to plant herbs. When we checked out our plot I noticed that there were garlic chives already coming back from last year. I picked some to use in scrambled eggs this week. I was ridiculously excited at my tiny first harvest. This far north anything that smacks of spring can set your heart aflutter.

The bad news in my community garden adventure is that most of my tomato seedlings have fallen victim to tragedy. I left them by a window that was accidentally left open on a night that turned quite cold. In the morning I found them all lifeless. The peppers that were planted next to them seem to be OK, though. I’ve decided that this is not the end of the world. I am going to the Friend’s School plant sale next Friday, so I will just have to replace them. Well, some of them anyway.