Blog: Gardening in East Harriet

When P and I moved to the East Harriet neighborhood, everyone who stopped by said, "If you want to know your neighbors, you need to get a dog." Not that I don't like dogs, but we are cat people. I thought great no one is going to get to know us because we are cat people. Then I found out another secret. Want to get to know your neighbors? Begin to garden.

Last summer began the gardening adventure. Because P & I were planning our wedding (which was held at our new home), I needed some great help and fast. In comes Linda from Topiary Gardens. She and her crew did amazing things to the front of our house. All of a sudden people were stopping, introducing themselves and talking. Then one person decided to say, "Are you going to do anything to the boulevard?" Huh? Being from the East Coast, well, we really don't do a lot to our boulevards because they are usually tree lined or concrete. I had never thought about gardening there and now I was feeling the pressure to do so. With the help of friends, we weeded and pulled up the grass, and planted annuals. (Did I mention I was planning a wedding?). Again neighbors stopped and chatted and we got to know even more people.

Fast forward to now. Since we had such a long winter, I have been dreaming about gardening and planning what to do so the neighbors could enjoy as they strolled by. This year I added a few raised beds, mainly for vegetables, a ring of flowers around the main tree in our yard, and the thing I have become very proud of...the boulevard. It is going to be spectacular as the years go on. With the help of the people at Wagners and a great friend, I got beautiful perennials that will continue to come back year after year. As I was planting, people began to stop by. Some faces I recognize from last year and new faces fresh from hibernation. I even had one neighbor thank us for helping to add value to her property. 

So my suggestion is if you want to get to know your neighbors, you could get a dog or you could just garden!