London Community Resource Centre

652 Elizabeth Street

London, Ontario

N5Y 6L3

(519) 432-1801

lcrc@lcrc.on.ca

Bringing together individuals, organizations and

          resource to foster community action

Tell Us Your Story

Don’t delay, tell us your story today. We’d love to hear from you. Send submissions to 

lcrc@lcrc.on.ca

Thank you,

LCRC staff.

Gardens cross cultures with spirit of camaraderie

Submitted by Glen McLeod, community gardener, White Oaks Garden

I am 74 years old and have been an enthusiastic gardener for the last 6 years.  The fresh organic

vegetables I grow have been tasty and plentiful but this is only a small part of what the community

garden means to me.

The time I spend in the garden is a valuable addition to my regular exercise schedule. The joy I see as

my plants grow and mature is both a pleasure and a source of pride.

But perhaps the largest benefit I receive from the garden project is the pleasure I get from sharing

ideas and philosophies with the other gardeners. These gardeners come from many parts of the world

and each come with their own style of gardening.

The prairie boy in me plants on the flat. The Latin Americans like to plant their beans in raised hills

while those from the Middle East like to plant in shallow depressions that tend to collect moisture.

One lady, about my age, plants a mixture of flowers and vegetable that is a delight to see.

All seem to be successful.

As an added benefit, two plots in our White Oaks garden were planted for the London Food Bank which 

received nearly 400lbs of potatoes from one garden.

The yearly picnic with gardeners coming from most of the 20 some community gardens is a bountiful

smorgasboard of Canadian, Latin American and Middle East dishes and provides a time for chatting about

our successes and failures.

But for me what is the most important is seeing people of different cultures talking in their newly learned

English and helping each other with seeds, plants and advice and lending a helping hand with weeding

and transplanting.  To see Chinar from Iraq helping Grace from Sudan, transplanting her bedding plants

and chatting about children sends me home with a full heart and hope for Canada and maybe the world.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --