Lawn gone, now garden of eatin'

While some of us spent this spring devouring YouTube videos, watching Netflix non-stop and doing far too much online shopping and eating, Danielle and Frank Harris found a way to get outside, get lots of exercise and build something for the future.

- MARY BEAN

When the pandemic hit, Danielle and Frank decided to keep busy — very busy.

But let’s start with last summer. Not long after they bought a house down the street, I noticed four new wooden raised garden beds on the property where the former owner had parked his RV and maintained a lawn.

Next, there were black drip hoses weaving among the boxes and newly installed trellises.

I watched throughout the summer as seeds turned to sprouts, that in turn became vegetable plants.

By the end of the summer the plants were heavy with the fruits of their labor, then in fall, the soil was turned and the beds “put to bed” for the winter. So, what happened this year? “We really didn’t plan on expanding the garden this year. It just worked out that way.” Danielle Harris explained. “I was sort of out of work when the COVID lockdown happened. We’d done a lot of work in the house over the winter and it was so good to finally do something outside.”

That “something” got the whole neighborhood’s attention. Each time I walked my dog past their house, the pile of trees and shrubs they were removing from the property grew exponentially higher.

When there was no longer any vegetation on the south side of their lot, Danielle and Frank could be seen taking down the existing retaining wall, one big basalt rock at a time.

Almost overnight it seemed, a new retaining wall appeared — much more robust and neatly stacked — in their preferred location. Next came a monster mound of gravel that later was spread on walkways between 11 beds, and finally a fence surrounded it all, to keep out hungry deer.

By now, the neighbors were curious and started deliberately steering their walks past the Harris’ house.