Oceanside Cove Welcomes community garden

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Residents of Oceanside Cove say they are happy with their recently completed community garden. The private, 50-acre development has had plans to create a shared garden for years, during which it has been the topic of an ongoing conversation, and two months ago it was finally put to a vote and approved.

The garden was designed by Oceanside Cove’s assistant manager, Ed Russo, and built by Russo and Dylan Kenny, who works on the maintenance at the Oceanside Cove. Community chairwoman Leona Marx said she was happy that residents can finally enjoy the garden space.

“It was built in a very specific way to make it appealing to this community,” Marx said. “We have picnic benches with umbrellas, where people could come and sit and view the garden, and it’s really quite something. I ended up managing it after it was built, and it seems to be working out very well.”

With spring in full bloom, residents now have the opportunity to plant fruits, vegetables and flowers, and their reactions, according to Marx, have been nothing but positive.

“They love it,” she said. “They’re all thrilled, because it’s something beautiful and new to see. Things are growing, people are out there working in the garden, and gardening is a very peaceful activity. We have all kinds of pollinator plants to attract the bees and butterflies.”

With residents eager to get involved, the community plans to emphasize education and the best gardening techniques. “I gave [them] maybe 10 pages of all sorts of information about raised beds, how to plant, what to plant,” Marx explained. “We’re trying to educate. They built a vertical garden, and now we’re preparing plastic bottles to hang … so we can plant herbs and strawberries. We’re trying to educate people. We’re trying to encourage people to recycle, and this is what this garden is about. It’s much more, I think, than a community garden. It’s an educational garden. We have a calligrapher who’s Chinese, and she’s going to grow Chinese vegetables, and she may do a cooking class over the summer in the garden. It’s more than just a place to plan things. It’s a place to learn.”