A friend and fellow storyteller from South Africa, wrote me this beautiful inspiring story of her free vegetable pavement garden. Thought it just needed further sharing!
As you can see from the photo, I live behind a high wall, which has electric fencing on the top of it. A couple of months ago, all the pavements on my side of the road were dug up to put in high speed Cabling. I thought, “dam it! Let me turn a lemon into a lemonade”. So I moved all my pretty flowers which were on the pavement, (my sons inherited a lot, and some I replanted inside, and friends got others) After the cabling went in, I planted vegetables, and created a vegetable pavement garden: Spinach, lots of tomatoes, beans, butternut (squash) moroggo (a SA spinach which black people love). I got a few old tyres, sprayed them orange and filled them with good soil. I placed the tyres where the soil was bad, or close to the edge of the Road where rain water often washes away plants. I have a few pretty flowers like marigolds, nasturtiums, zinnias – but they are there to deter bugs mostly. I have a sign on the pavement which says: Pick what you can eat, but leave some for your brothers and sisters. Healthy free vegetables! I was driving home from shopping last week, and as I came round the corner, I almost drove into a black man carrying a large bunch of spinach. He waved at me with a grin from ear to ear, waving the spinach in the air, saying thank you! I stopped the car, and said: But you didn’t leave any for your brothers and sisters! (for he had picked just about all the spinach). With another Huge grin he said, “no problem, I will share it with my brothers and sisters at home!” What could I say, I was delighted. This is part of my dream for 2013 – that many more people plant pavement gardens, creating healthy food for all. And although this doesn’t bring the walls down, perhaps it helps to make them a little less solid. And who know what Stories will come out of talking to people on my pavement!
