08/17/2025
A Garden Story
Nine years ago, Happen had a beautiful vegetable garden. I was proud of that garden, and invited everyone to visit. We grew vegetables, held education programs for both kids and adults, composted for our local food pantry, and provided free vegetables for neighborhood families.
One day, I invited my friend to visit. She used a wheelchair, but when she arrived, she couldn’t get in. The garden looked beautiful and inviting with its 12-inch raised beds and wood chip paths, but I quickly learned it was full of obstacles for her. She could only experience it from the sidewalk.
That moment led to a yearlong discussion about creating a truly wheelchair-accessible garden. We made the hard decision to scrape everything and start over. We widened the paths to 52 inches with hard pavers, raised the beds to 27 inches, and designed the plantings to grow outward for easy reach. It took four times as long as my first plan, and required the dedication of volunteers, contractors, and donors who believed that a garden for everyone was worth it.
This past week during Happen Teen Garden Club, we were reminded why all that work mattered. A Happen family, Anissa and her son William, visited the teens and toured the garden. As Anissa moved easily through the paths, she looked up and said, “I love the pavers. Thank you so much.”
In that moment, nine years of planning, building, and hard work disappeared. Watching someone experience the garden with ease and joy while connecting with our teens reminded me that the Happen Do Good Garden is about so much more than growing vegetables. It is about growing community.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this garden possible.
