gmhGardensTODAY
Garden Dreams Take Root
by Mike Sanchez
The Pleasant Valley Garden , on the GB Landscaping Services , Inc tree farm property in Gilroy . took root on May 20 , 2023 .
Pleasant Valley Garden took root on Saturday , May 20 , 2023 , reply . More crops are coming in daily . The garden will host a when ten families arrived at a quarter-acre plot of land on harvest celebration for the member families when the bulk of the GB Landscaping Services tree farm site at 8:30 am . Families the crops are ready . brought their own seeds and seedlings to plant , and planted other seedlings provided by Greg Bozzo . There was excitement in the air , and smiles on every face as parents , kids , and a few grandparents worked side by side to work the soil and plant their vegetables and herbs .
The following Tuesday evening , another 15 families who could not attend the initial planting session came out to the garden and planted their seeds and seedlings with the same enthusiasm . In all , 32 local families are sharing space in the private community garden , which is currently at full capacity .
In the days and weeks since the first plantings , member families have planted corn , tomatoes , watermelon , and other high yield crops on a quarter-acre plot adjacent to the garden . These crops are intended to be shared among all the families at harvest .
Recently , families have begun proudly sharing images of harvested zucchini , eggplant , radishes , and chard with each other via group texts , receiving praise and happy emojis in
While it seems like it happened over night , it didn ’ t . Greg and I have been working on a concept for a community garden for years — both individually and collectively . Greg is an avid gardener and has always envisioned creating a garden , as a way to give back to the community , for years . For me , it was a bit of a family legacy .
Deb and our grandson Hayden Gaona , who was three-years old at the time , helped build the first community garden in 2010 with Deb ’ s Leadership Gilroy class . After completion , the garden struggled for a few years , then met its demise . The site is now a much-needed downtown parking lot . As the garden began to “ go south ,” I felt a need to try and save it . I briefly joined the board , working alongside several wonderful , passionate people . However , our efforts were too little , too late . It was then I vowed to one day help create , or recreate , a community garden , in homage to my wife and my grandson ’ s hard work , and the class of 2010 ’ s original vision of a thriving , verdant community garden .
70 SUMMER 2023 gmhTODAY Magazine : Go . Make history ... gmhtoday . com