Vegetables Anyone?

I have contacted a volunteer organization to possibly help with our grounds here at “The Home” and maybe put in a raised-bed vegetable garden to supplement our meals. I passed out a survey at lunch asking residents to tell me what sort of help they might need with their own individual plantings and if they would help with a vegetable garden. The reaction was not mixed; it was uniformly wary and distrustful. I’m trying not to get discouraged right out of the box, BUT . . .

I thought, having worked with churches for forty years, that I knew how to communicate with wary people. People here at “The Home” are not just wary; they are “once bitten, twice shy,” paranoid.

First of all, they had to be assured that I have permission from the administrators to do what I have done. I do. (Reminder to self: In future, have the director imprint her pinky ring in wax on each sheet.)

Secondly, those who are now gardening do not want anyone telling them how to do what they are now doing. Fine. There is a place to circle “NO, I do not want any help.”

Some are sure that improvements in the grounds would mean higher rent. Others want to know if it will cost anything. Others who have tried similar projects in the past assure me it can’t be done. So on and so forth.

A few surveys are trickling in, and some are favorable. I’m going to give it a few more days and field any questions. We’ll see.