Gardening With My Neighbors

I live in a small apartment building, and I know most of my neighbors. Everyone is friendly and we hang out a bit and stop to talk when we are coming and going, or at least to say hello.

It is a small building and there is just a small bit of dirt outside the backdoor, not big enough for anyone to call a yard, but enough room to plant a few things in the dirt plus room for a container garden.

One of my neighbors started by clearing the ground, and planted a few vegetables and flowers, then another planted a few flowers and some culinary herbs. I tried growing plants in my apartment last year, but that didn't work, so I brought out the flower pots I had and some potting soil. Tomorrow, I will go and get a few more plants, I am thinking that there is no such thing as too much tomatoes and basil in the summer. Other neighbors have pitched in and helped with the planting, and now there is this beautiful little garden and a table and a few chairs for people to sit and have a drink.

Sort of an impromptu community space that everyone is creating together. No one is in charge of anything, no one is organizing anything. Everyone is just doing something. All of this is in a space that would be no bigger than what a lot of people would call a small sized patio.

So we have this beautiful little common area where people just hang out and socialize and it really adds a lot to living in this place. It doesn't always take much to make friends with your neighbors. Maybe I am just lucky to have nice people for neighbors, but I think all of this just happened because everyone is just open and friendly with each other. Moving into this building was a really good choice. Nurturing the community spirit is a really enjoyable experience.

It is amazing what you can do with a small space,creative thinking and cooperation.