The garden was a labor of love, and though Carol wondered at first whether or not it was a good idea, it ended up being something that most of the group could get involved with completing. She asked Rick first, as he had the most experience with creating a large garden space. He offered some advice, but wanted to be left out of the actual gardening.
"Carl has a lot of experience with weeding though, and he has the time to assist." Rick gave his son a pointed look when Carl groaned.
For Carol it had been one more thing to do so that they could be self-sufficient and it seemed like good exercise as well. Additionally, it seemed that most women of her age within the community had some plot of flowers, herbs or vegetables, and after helping Eric with his raised garden beds it would look odd if she didn't develop something similar for their houses. It was why she started coming up with the plans and chatting with other residents to get their thoughts. She didn't need their opinions or ideas, but it looked good for her to do that. She wasn't going to ask Eric for his help either, when he was still healing, though she foresaw asking him to visit for iced tea while they worked on the plot.
Eugene was the first to get really excited about the idea. He borrowed several books about gardening and found graph paper to draw maps of their yard. Tara spent days running around the grass plot with measuring tape, and gave him as many dirty looks as she could while he failed to notice any of them. They borrowed small wooden stakes and twine and had everything marked out before a shovel was put to dirt.
Abraham had just sighed when he saw what they were doing, knowing that he was going to be one of the laborers. "I don't get enough of this by building a damn wall around this town?" He grumbled but after Rosita volunteered to help with getting the seedlings started he backed down and resigned himself to helping clear the top level of the yard of grass. Carol offered the sod to a few other families who had trouble spots in their grass and it was hauled away for them.
Almost everyone pitched in for the hard labor, taking turns and spreading out the work. Some grumbled about the physical labor, and some grumbled about how long it would take for anything to grow, but when it was finished they had a large plot filled with vegetable seeds and seedlings, herbs and a few small fruit plants. They were even offered a cutting from a neighbor's vining rose bushes, and Carol accepted it with thanks, finding a spot next to the patio for it to be planted and covering it with a large mason jar.
She was pleased with the way things had turned out for the garden, and the amount of work that everyone had done together, even if there was sniping and complaining occasionally. If they stayed long enough they would have the chance at a good harvest, and she would be canning food like mad. When everyone else had collapsed on the grass and the patio, she went inside for the pitchers of lemonade and the glasses she had set aside.
"Alright everyone, come get a drink. Take a bow for all of your hard work, and we'll toast to our plants."