Hey garden fam! It’s John here, and I just got home from the garden with dirt under my nails and sunshine on my face! HAD to share how flippin’ amazing today was! The sun was beaming, the soil was that perfect not-too-wet-not-too-dry consistency, and our garden crew of misfits showed up ready to make some serious magic happen! 🌱✨

New Faces, New Garden Friends

My absolute favorite thing today? Seeing so many people just ENJOYING themselves! Smiling, dancing, lounging in the shade, and making new connections. Sara and her daughter found us on Google News (Shout out to Chanel 7 News for the feature) and stopped by for their very first garden day. They jumped right in and had a blast!

And get this – Shay’s friend Freddy came to check us out and within about 5 minutes, he was laughing and digging in the dirt like he’d been part of our garden family forever! That’s what I LOVE about this place – no awkward “new kid” phase. You show up, we hand you a trowel, and suddenly you’re part of something awesome!

We had a few other first-timers too, including Katie’s neighbor who rode his bike up to check us out. I love watching people discover our little green paradise for the first time. Remember when this was just an overgrown field? Watching it transform week by week seriously makes my heart so full.

Lemonhead Stole the Show

Can we talk about Lemon for a second? That sweet pup was SO excited to see everyone today! Running around, giving Katie some very helpful face-cleaning during water breaks (whether Katie wanted it or not, haha!). Our four-legged garden supervisors make everything better – just ask Jeff, who says they spent the day “moving dirt from 10-2 and taking breaks to pet dogs in between.” Is there a better way to spend a Saturday? I don’t think so!

Blueberry Dreams & Dirt Mountains

Lisa was amazing today, getting those whiskey barrels we scored last year prepped for more blueberries. She says our existing blueberry plants should produce actual fruit this year! They’re already flowering and will be part of our U-Pick Garden, so everyone in the community can enjoy them.

And that dirt mound? Y’all, we made WAY more progress than I thought possible! Kat was planting celery, putting out sponsor signs, and helping me with the new fence section. I also had the fun job of filming Katie for our sponsor thank-you videos (I caught Kat *accidentally* splashing her with water while we were filming… oops!).

An Opening Day Like No Other

Historically, Opening Day has always been this massive push to clean up the garden after last season’s end. But this year? This is the first year we NEVER STOPPED coming to the garden! What can I say, we really love this place.

We’ve been here through the winter and every weekend since the weather broke. Because of that consistent care, all those big projects we’d normally be scrambling to finish? They’re already mostly done! We’ve stayed on top of everything week by week, and it’s completely transformed what Opening Day means for us.

Instead of cutting weeds and cleaning up fence lines, next Saturday is going to be all about PLANTING, making new friends, and truly ENJOYING this beautiful space we’ve created together. I’m so stoked for next week and can’t wait to see everyone from the community here!

Come Celebrate With Us!

If you haven’t been to the garden yet (or even if you have!), next Saturday is THE perfect time to stop by:

• When: Next Saturday, 5/17/2025, 10AM-2PM
• What: Garden Opening Day Celebration
• Features: BBQ! Dancing! Music! Community vibes!
• Cost: Absolutely FREE!

No experience needed, no special equipment required – just bring yourself and maybe a water bottle! The garden is looking INCREDIBLE and we can’t wait to show it off and welcome you all into our garden family!

See you next Saturday, friends! 💚

#UrbanSeed #EastpointeCommunityGarden #OpeningDayComing #GardenFamily #BlueberriesForAll