Lillia Young and her brother, Mitchell, team up to haul a wagon loaded with gardening supplies Sunday during the grand opening of the Aptos Community Garden on Soquel Drive. (Photos by Tarmo Hannula)

APTOS — The Aptos Community Garden opened Sunday to the tune of live music, tables of food and plenty of words of thanks for a seemingly endless stream of donors.

The 26,136-square-foot garden, perched on a gentle slope leading up to Christ Lutheran Church, is sponsored by the church and has 91 plots for anyone in Santa Cruz County.

Adding to the festive, sunny opening day were Linda and Trent McNair, owners of Surf City Growers. The pair donated more than 2,100 organic vegetable and herb starts to give new gardeners a running start with their plots.

“We live in the fog, so this is a perfect solution,” said Lisa Logsdon of Aptos. “We used to have a garden, so we’ve been really looking forward to this. It’s nice to be out here. I am a Court Appointed Special Advocate, so I am looking forward to getting some CASA kids out here to work in the garden.”

Melanie Larson of Seascape, one of the organizers behind the project, read through a huge thank-you list to the donors who made the project possible. Donations included more than 1,000 feet of wire fence, irrigation, grading and landscaping, landscaping architectural drafts, rain barrels, a 5,000-gallon water cistern, wood chips, soil and plants.

“Melanie is a gift who helps other people to give,” Pastor Dale Sollom-Brotherton told the gathering of about 100 people.

The organizers also came up with a mission statement for the garden: “The mission of our garden is to provide a natural garden setting for people with limited access to land and other resources to grow food and ornamental plants using organic methods. Our goal for the garden space is to support the health and well-being of humans, wildlife and the natural environment.”

After the speeches, dozens of families, some with kids toting plants and rakes, took to their new plots and started planting. With bluegrass and country music in the air, the gardens began to fill up with starters for green beans, artichokes, snap peas, parsley, cilantro, cucumbers, basil, oregano, thyme and various peppers, all donated by Surf City Growers.

“This is about the community and this garden is the perfect way to be a part of that community,” said Suzannah Young, who came to the garden Sunday with her husband, Arnett, and their two children. “My parents have a plot right next to ours. That’s perfect.”

The entire garden is organic and features 20 water faucets distributed about the garden that deliver captured rainwater. In addition, 12 plots have been set up exclusively for the disabled.

Any resident in Santa Cruz County can reserve a plot. For information, visit www.aptoscommunitygarden.org. So far, 39 plots have been taken.

The garden is located at 10707 Soquel Drive.



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