Canada: Feeling Isolated in Their Vancouver Neighbourhood, This Couple Planted a Seed. Oh, How It Bloomed
Barry and Joan Jung share how their front-yard garden brought a community together.
By Pratyush Dayal
TheTyee.ca
Aug 19, 2020
Excerpt:
Then, one day, Barry Jung was at work building a garden space in his front yard and noticed that passersby were stopping to look. Next to the row of adjacent houses all set behind lawns and hedges, the Jungs’ vegetable and fruit garden must’ve looked almost naked.
“People started coming and asking, ‘What are you doing, aren’t you afraid that people will steal your vegetables?’” said Joan Jung. “And it invited this curiosity. We found that through the garden, people started having conversations.”
Hoping the garden might inspire people to grow their own food, Barry Jung installed a curbside library in the garden as a place to provide seeds, seedlings and books. Soon it became a locus for the neighbourhood to exchange various items.
People started leaving packages of seeds or little notes as thanks near the Jungs’ front door. So the couple took the next step, organizing barbecues and hosting nights with live music played by a neighbour.
While COVID-19 brought their gatherings to a temporary halt, people continue to enjoy their garden and its many features, they said.
