Libby community garden is more than just a hobby

It’s a hot day right after the Fourth of July and a light-haired head is bobbing above greenery next to Asa Wood Elementary School.

Garden member Marilyn Irwin, wearing a light green shirt and bright makeup that matched the vibrant flowers in the garden, pitched an old tire onto a “lasagna layer” of soil — made of cardboard and other biodegradable materials — in the garden’s new community-focused  mandala, a round garden design of small soil plots.

“You get a tan whether you like it or not,” Irwin said, wiping off her brow, laughing and continuing to walk toward the north part of the garden.

With just two hoses, the Libby Area Community Garden Club has brought a year-old garden plot to fruition and members hope to bring more community attention to the site in the new 2014 growing season.

This local community garden, located next to Asa Wood Elementary School and maintained by Linda Alkire and a group of other community members, started in the spring 2013 and has grown steadily to include the mandala, an arbor, a plant-lined Conestoga wagon and even a secret  garden.

But the garden and the club that run it have run into a few weeds along the way in establishing this 200-by-100 plot of green. Because the Environmental Protection Agency banned the group from digging into the soil because of the risk of asbestos exposure, the  

beds must be in raised plots above the grass. Although Irwin said no  

asbestos has been found on the site, they have to comply. Beyond the  

soil, a vigilant sign warns of the threat of deer appetites, and  

gophers have weaseled into the outer rim of plants in the garden.

Challenges aside, the tomatoes, peppers and okra have healthfully  

spread across the old schoolyard. Expanding beyond the greenery,  

garden members have made a “secret garden” clad with treasures  

including handmade cement leaves and mushrooms and donated stones for  

paths. On Wednesdays, a local woman comes to the secret garden to tell  

stories to youngsters.

The garden is split up into different sections: on the north side is  

the member and shared member beds, and the new community-oriented  

south side includes the mandala, the Conestoga wagon, an art board and  

sunflower ring — Irwin said they are planning to make a “sunflower  

teepee” with the sunflower ring to help alleviate stress, especially  

for children. Any community member can come in to help with the plants  

in the mandala, so long as they commit to two hours a week.

“To just work two hours a week and get to be out here?” Irwin said.  

“That’s nothing. It’s worth it. We just want more people out here.”

The 23 elevated white wooden member boxes are $41 per year. Beyond  

snagging a member box, Irwin said the community can still be involved  

by coming to help plant, water and see the plants through to harvest,  

but they can also can make the smallest step and bring in tomato cages  

and garden items.

Irwin said the garden functions on a volunteer basis, and all money  

given to the garden goes to the garden’s insurance. The garden is not  

a registered nonprofit organization.

With the help of manure along with sandy loam soil and the “lasagna”  

layers, the garden has become a verdant den in what used to be a  

playground: an old merry-go-round is what remains of the plot’s  

previous role.

Leny Pierce, a local woman helping at the garden, stirred lemonade in  

a glass dispenser under a canopy near the garden, taking a break from  

the heavy heat. Both Irwin and Pierce have found refuge in the garden.

As someone who has gardened since childhood when she would steal the  

kitchen saltshaker and run to the garden to munch on tomatoes, Irwin  

finds herself energetic and excited to be working around flora. For  

Pierce, it is an escape.

“It’s calming to me,” Pierce said. She is originally from the  

Philippines. “There’s nothing else like coming to this garden to get  

away from everything.”

But Irwin said only if the community gets more involved can the garden  

be successful. Irwin and the other club members have worked hard to  

help the garden inch slowly forward like the plants it nurtures, but  

to Irwin, putting the “community” in “community garden” is key.

Green stalks and soft flower petals stretch from these plots that are  

filled with the light brown of sandy loam and the deep brown of  

manure. A pile of soil from Thompson Falls sits close by.

Creating a garden in the center of Libby appears to be a sizable feat  

that the garden members have approached with a headstrong attitude.  

Yet, the green of the plants and the dirt on the workers’ hands shows  

their dedication to Libby and their hope for Libby to respond with a  

few more hands, some love and maybe even a couple more hoses.