Sowing seeds of friendship

COEUR d'ALENE - The Community Garden of the Master is a special place for Larry Topp.

He can drive his automatic wheelchair right through the gate and dig into the handicap-accessible plant beds where he grows potatoes to donate to the local food bank.

"We all work together and enjoy it," he said. "It's a big part of my life."

Topp, a Vietnam veteran, has been in a wheelchair about 15 years because of a neuromuscular disease. The garden is located at 4800 N. Ramsey Road in Coeur d'Alene, just around the corner from his home.

"I was taking my dog for a walk and they hollered at me and asked me to come over," he said. "I've been involved ever since."

Topp and his wife grow other edibles in two more plant beds that rest on the ground. The rows between the beds are wide enough for him to navigate with his wheelchair, so he can visit other gardeners and see how their gardens are growing. Despite the location near a busy street, Topp said the community garden is a pleasant place.

"You have the traffic out there, but when you come in here, you just don't hear it," he said. "It's just another world. It brings peace of mind and body."

Topp, garden manager Tracie Babor of Coeur d'Alene, former garden manager Michelle Gutz-Kleng and a few others visited the garden Saturday to clean, build and plan for its fourth season. The 72-bed, half-acre garden is home to many projects. It includes a shed, new message board, five compost piles, birdhouses and a 9-foot tall model of the Eiffel Tower. The garden accommodates physically limited individuals with the wheelchair-accessible and raised beds. The garden also provides children's activities, such as the colorful hopscotch, an autumnal pumpkin patch and the free little children's library.

"Gardening is great, it's just so fun," said 9-year-old Mariah Anderson of Coeur d'Alene. "You can do a couple garden experiments too, and you can get your hands dirty if you're a really messy kid."

Mariah and her mom Robyn also live close to the community garden and will be renting beds again this year. Mariah had fun digging up carrots and worms whey they stopped by in the early afternoon.

"I'm the gardener, and she decided she loved it, so she has her own plot too," Robyn said. "We do a lot. She loves doing flower gardens."

Babor has already spent plenty of time preparing the community garden for the busy season, but the big spring cleanup is April 26.

This is Babor's first year as manager. When she came to the garden a few years ago, she and her daughter experienced the trials and tribulations of gardening.

"I didn't know then that there are some things that you can't put together," she said. "Like, peppers and tomatoes don't like cabbage and broccoli, things like that. It was a learning curve for me."

Babor is passionate about the garden because she wants to feed people. Everything grown is organic, and much of what is grown is donated to area soup kitchens, food banks and others in need. Last year, almost 1,000 pounds of produce were donated. The Community Garden of the Master is a "Plant a Row for the Hungry" garden as well, meaning feeding the hungry in the community is a huge priority.

"Grow what you need, donate what you can," Babor said. "That's our motto."

It is $25 to rent a plot for the season, a cost which is kept low because the adjacent Lutheran Church of the Master provides the land, water and insurance for the garden. This also allows Babor to offer scholarship plots and flexibility with those who want to grow in the garden but may not the have financial means.

"We do it based on need," she said. "We would figure it out."

A multitude of people and organizations contribute to and benefit from the garden. The wheelchair-accessible beds were paid for by Disability Action Network Northwest and built by Boy Scouts. The garden receives support from the Lutheran Church of the Master. Some gardeners grow fresh flowers for area senior facilities.

And the garden is not limited to members of the church. Babor said anyone is welcome.

"It's just all walks of life," she said.

The garden still has beds to rent, and the handicap-accessible ones are free to people in wheelchairs. Babor also said they are hoping to see military families that are new to the area and/or looking to reintegrate.

"In this garden, they're not going to ask about religion, creed, none of that," Topp said. "As far as we're concerned, this is the Good Lord's job, this is his spot."

"We've never had an issue," Gutz-Kleng added. "We're just one big happy family."

For information, email communitygardenofthemaster@gmail.com or call Babor at 446-4990.