By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
COLTS NECK – The Friends of the Colts Neck Library has converted the library’s reading garden into a community garden in the hope of bringing residents closer together.
The project of creating a community garden was led by Janeen Yodakis. She said the library’s garden was initially designed as a place where children could read and relax in a peaceful setting. After several years the garden began to fall apart.
“It became a long-term goal to get the garden going again,” Yodakis said. “It is an overwhelming task to (care for) the garden by oneself or even with two or three people. But if you have a larger group of people who are willing to take ownership of the garden, it would be a successful garden.”
With that in mind, the space has been transformed from a children’s reading garden into a community garden where individual plots will be tended by participants growing their own vegetables or flowers.
The community garden will hold a grand opening on May 21 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the library, Winthrop Drive. There will be door prizes, gifts and games, and guests may claim an available plot. Master gardeners from the Monmouth County Master Gardeners Association will speak about vegetable gardening and answer questions.
The garden has 15 plots ranging in size from 86 square feet to 191 square feet. Plots are free, but each gardener must provide his or her own seeds. Gardeners are encouraged to bring their own tools, however, there is a locked tool shed that may be accessed by a member of the Friends of the Colts Neck Library. There may be scheduled get-togethers for gardeners on Sunday afternoons, although gardeners can tend their plot when they please.
“We want to bring this community together,” Yodakis said. “I believe communities everywhere have become weak. Everybody is running around and there are a lot of individual activities.”
Yodakis said the community garden’s tagline is “Bringing Generations Together to Sow Seeds and Relationships.”
“The garden is a place to slow down,” she said. “We all need a place that is peaceful and where we all can just slow down. We are constantly battling devices, screens and busy schedules. People need to breathe and relax to the sounds and smells of their surroundings.
“We hope this will bring generations together,” Yodakis said. “It is invaluable to bring the elderly and children together. The elderly are the greatest historians. I lost my grandparents when I was very young and I wish I had that kind of a relationship. I hope we will be able to make a lot of rich connections with people in the garden.”
For more information or to reserve a plot in the community garden, email [email protected] or visit the Colts Neck Community Garden page on Facebook.