South County Gardening is working with volunteers and businesses from Bend, La Pine and Sunriver to build a Victory Garden at the La Pine Senior Center. The garden will provide those in need with fresh, organic produce. Seeing as the garden is geared towards both produce and pollination (flowers galore!), it will also be open to the public for viewing.
Before the Victory Garden concept came into bloom, the area in front of the La Pine Senior Center was naught but a field of weeds. With permission from the senior center, South County Gardening began to work on the land, gathering seeds before plotting the landscape with donations from La Pine Ace Hardware. Compost donated by Deschutes Recycling and Sunriver Recycling was then laid down, safely killing weeds without disturbing the soil. Fencing material was graciously donated by Ace Hardware in La Pine and Mike’s Fence Center in Bend. Elite Landscaping in La Pine is currently installing the fencing, framing in the designated 168 x 55 ft. area.
“We went around to some businesses to get donations for materials we needed, and the support has just been amazing,” stated Bonny Bowens of South County Gardening. “We’ve had several businesses who have donated everything. It’s just been an amazing effort; people have contributed so much and so many hands have been involved in this project.”
South County Gardening is currently starting to plant warm weather crops, including potatoes, tomatoes and basil. The crops are expected to be ready sometime in early June.
You can find the Victory Garden right in front of the La Pine Senior Center, parallel to Huntington Road. Extra vegetables from the garden will go to food banks and other senior centers, and South County Gardening will be announcing (via social media) when food is available to those in need.
This article appears in Mar 25 – May 20, 2020.
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