Gardens, Growth, & Grounding
What Kitsilano’s Community Gardens Teach Us About Transition, Resilience, and Connection
In the last year, I stumbled upon what I like to call the secret garden. Once a place I assumed was private, I learned it is open to all. Welcome yourself through the gate and meander among plots of berries, kale, tomato vines, and flowers — it is for everyone.
Kitsilano is home to several community gardens, and as locals know, it is almost impossible to secure a plot. But what I discovered is that you don’t need one to participate. Sit back in an Adirondack chair and watch as gardeners slowly weed and water. Find a bench on the bike path and notice neighbours sharing dinner outdoors or chatting with friends. Read a book in a tucked-away spot, breathe in the scent of flowers, or simply appreciate the beauty.
Finding the “secret garden” sparked something in me — a new attention to the seasons. How they change, how they change us, and what each one offers.
-Erin
Lessons from the Garden
1. Growth Requires Patience
In the garden, seeds don’t sprout overnight. Growth takes time, nourishment, and consistency. The same is true for mental health. Healing and resilience are built slowly, through small, steady practices of care.
2. Seasons of Rest Are Necessary
Not every month is a harvest month. In winter, the soil rests, preparing for spring. In our lives, rest is not a failure — it is a necessary season for recovery, integration, and renewal.
3. Diversity Strengthens the System
Community gardens thrive on variety: herbs alongside vegetables, flowers beside fruit. Diversity builds resilience. In our lives, multiple sources of support — relationships, practices, spaces of rest — help us weather challenges more effectively.
4. Tending Requires Care and Attention
Left untended, weeds will grow. Gardens remind us that neglect is natural but care is intentional. Our emotional lives also need tending: checking in with ourselves, setting boundaries, and seeking support when needed.
Grounding in Kitsilano
Community gardens are more than places to grow food. They are spaces of connection and belonging - neighbours sharing tools, trading tips, and celebrating the harvest. They invite us to slow down, touch the earth, and remember that we are part of something larger.
Whether you have a plot or simply stroll past, these gardens remind us: resilience isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about moving with the cycles of life.
Closing
In Kitsilano, resilience can be found in unexpected places, even in a patch of soil by the sidewalk. Like the gardens, our lives flourish when we allow for patience, rest, variety, and care.
Next time you walk by a community garden, pause for a moment. Notice the growth, the rest, the resilience in action. And ask yourself: how might you tend to your own life in the same way?
