What a day! I rolled up to the Eastpointe Community Garden just after 10 AM thinking we’d have a nice, low-key harvest morning. Boy, was I wrong – in the best possible way.

Already in Full Swing

Katie was already deep into harvesting the U-Pick Garden when I arrived, and Kat was making her rounds watering all the sponsor beds. Nothing beats that feeling of showing up to find your garden family already hard at work, especially when you know the day’s going to be a scorcher. 🥵

The Bean Bonanza

Let me tell you about these beans. We’re talking over 5 pounds of pure variety – purple ones, fat ones, short ones, green ones, and some absolute monsters that were literally 2 feet long! I’m convinced these beans deserve their own hall of fame. Glenn even discovered some sneaky peas hiding in the garden that somehow survived this heat. Nature finds a way, right?

Flowers, Friendship, and Freddie’s Bouquet

After the harvesting marathon, I decided to put together a flower bouquet for our usual picnic table gathering spot. When Freddie mentioned wishing he’d brought a vase, I knew exactly what to do – handed him the whole bouquet! Shay jumped in to help arrange it more professionally, and honestly, watching Freddie carry around his colorful bouquet for the rest of the day was one of those moments that made me smile. That’s the kind of spontaneous joy that happens when people feel comfortable being themselves.

Solar Power Dreams and Bog Filter Adventures

While I was getting my hands dirty with harvesting, Jeff was tackling an incredibly ambitious project – building a bog filter and solar pump system for the water garden. This guy dug a trash can into a hill, created channels for a seasonal clean-out valve, layered it with rocks and lava rocks, mounted a solar panel on a 4×4 post, and got the whole system assembled. The charge controller gave him some trouble at the end, but the engineering that went into this project was absolutely impressive.

Coley was right there helping with the “bog stuff” during the morning hours, plus trimming, watering, and harvesting alongside everyone else before heading out in the mid-afternoon.

Native Plant Power

Nick was busy expanding our biodiversity sanctuary, planting more dogwood and pussy willow – which earned “plant of the week” status! He also transplanted some swamp milkweed from the grass area into the pond zone. Working alongside Rob (who’s one of Steve and Melanie’s friends), Lauren, and Melanie, they welcomed a bunch of native plants that Rob brought by (Thanks again Rob!) It’s amazing how these collaborations just happen naturally when people are passionate about the same things.

Good Vibes from Cloverleaf

Right around noon, I got a text from Marie at Cloverleaf Pizza. She’d been watching the weather and decided her garden family needed some fuel! Not only did she cover everyone’s meal, she hand-delivered it to us. Businesses like Cloverleaf Pizza investing in what we do means everything. None of this community magic happens without supporters who believe in the mission. The message on the box said it all “Thank you for the love you give the city!”

Little Touches, Big Impact

Shay was spreading joy in her own special way, hiding emotional support pickles and inspirational potatoes in people’s rental beds. She also shared tumbled rocks with her garden friends – those little gestures that remind you community is built on countless small kindnesses.

Lisa showed up after 2 PM and jumped right into action, helping William harvest his rental bed and tackle those hard-to-reach tomatoes. Plus she helped us get organized and locked up when the day was done.

Sarah’s Brilliant Community Outreach

Here’s where the day took an unexpectedly awesome turn. Sarah, one of our community partners, had a fantastic idea. Since we were dealing with construction-related parking challenges, why not turn that into an opportunity? She suggested we pre-package our harvest and distribute it directly to folks across the street. Talk about making lemonade from lemons – or in our case, making community connections from construction chaos!

The Numbers Don’t Lie

When we weighed everything at the end, we’d harvested just under 25 pounds of fresh produce. Twenty-five pounds! From squash to those champion beans, from surprise peas to beautiful flowers, our little plot of urban magic produced enough food to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Heat, Humidity, and Heart

Was it muggy? Absolutely. Did the humidity make everything feel about 10 degrees hotter? You bet. Did that stop our amazing volunteers from showing up and making things happen? Not even close.

Sure, we had fewer people than usual – folks are traveling, dealing with summer obligations, life being life. But the crew that showed up brought serious energy and got an incredible amount accomplished.

What This Day Really Means

Days like today remind me why Urban Seed exists. It’s not just about the 25 pounds of produce or the successful infrastructure projects. It’s about Freddie walking around with his bouquet, Jeff refusing to give up on his solar pump vision, Shay hiding surprise gifts, and Marie showing up with lunch just because she cares.

It’s about creating a space where 82-year-old cyclists can teach shovel techniques, where people can gift each other tumbled rocks, where construction problems become community outreach opportunities.

This is what happens when you build something bigger than a garden – you build a community that grows together, supports each other, and finds joy in the simple act of nurturing life from the soil.

Ready to join us next Saturday? We meet every Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM at 16425 Nine Mile Road in Eastpointe. No experience needed, no registration required – just show up and become part of something pretty amazing.

Special thanks to Cloverleaf Pizza for keeping us fed and fueled! Supporting local businesses that support community gardens creates the kind of positive cycle that makes neighborhoods thrive.