When Bill and I bought our home in Upper Lake nine years ago, we had two big reasons. First, we love old homes — and ours is a charming craftsman built in the early 1900s. Second, we were drawn to the amazing yard. The previous owner was a master gardener, and it shows! 
All year long, different flowers bloom, attracting bees for pollination. We also have a 60+ year-old Concord grapevine (confirmed by a visiting vineyard manager!) and a sweet little pond. Now, the pond is never clear — which drives Bill a little crazy 
— but I love it. The lotus flower that blooms there and the peaceful feeling I get watching the fish make it my favorite place to sit with my Bible and soak in the beauty. 
Back then, Bill and I decided to start a little hobby garden because the yard inspired us so much. Bill jokingly wanted to call it Big C Ranch, which still cracks me up since we’re only on a 1/3 of an acre! But to a Southern California guy like Bill, this place felt huge. 
We started with a raised bed garden and even went to gardening classes. We googled a lot and talked to our Grace Church family for tips. We found so much joy working in the dirt together — picking veggies, learning what worked (and what didn’t — like the mystery of our non-producing artichoke that we learned years later needed a “buddy plant” to thrive! Who knew?!)
We also built a little herb garden, which brings me so much joy since I love to cook. 
A few years ago, we heard about the Green Thumb Ministry from Doug Bridges, and we were all in! We started planting extra tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Whenever we had more than we could eat, we brought the extras to church. It was so much fun watching people scoop them up every week. 
There’s something special about giving what you’ve grown with love. We quickly learned that the blessing is in the blessing. It made us so happy to pop open the back of our car full of heirloom tomatoes and see folks rush over with smiles and helping hands.
If you’re like Bill and me and love spending time in the garden, consider planting a little extra to bless others in our church. 
Many of our brothers and sisters are on fixed incomes or don’t have the space or ability to grow fresh veggies, fruit, or flowers.
There’s nothing you need to sign up for — no meetings to attend. Just bring what you have. Share the harvest. Pour out love in this simple, beautiful way. 
~ Melissa