Rob Till beams with pride as he surveys rows of berries, patches of squash and corn that towers above his head.
He picks off a few leaves — oregano, rosemary or thyme — and offers a sniff. Between the vibrant flowers blooming in the sun, aromas from herbs wafting under nose and a cool breeze passing through, his community garden in Grove offers a full sensory experience.
The garden spans a quarter of an acre in the space behind James River Elementary School and the Abram Frink Jr. Community Center. Till began the project last summer as a well to give back to the residents of the Grove neighborhood in James City County.
“This serves me,” he said. “This is my podium and my way to serve people.”
He called 2013 his “set-up year,” manning the beds and shouldering the labor almost entirely on his own. This summer, 10 families are sharing in the planting, growing and pruning.
The garden is one of many recent initiatives to bring together the Grove community. Earlier this spring, James City County police hosted a meeting to open a line of communication with residents, and in March police partnered with the county, Grove Christian Outreach Center and other groups to organize and execute a cleanup effort that removed about 37 tons from the streets.
Open only to Grove residents, Till has three simple rules governing his garden: there is no charge to join, participants must pledge to tend to their area for at least 15 minutes per week and everyone working in the garden must sign in and out.
Residents can sign up for a 4-foot by 8-foot bed, and while Till will advise them on planting and help them acquire seeds, he stressed the garden is in the community’s hands. As growers move in or out, he is happy to let them take on larger plots if they are able. Till envisions the garden as a unifying ground where residents swap ideas and — with permission — produce.
Till also sees the garden as an educational tool, and enjoys bringing children through to learn about plants and their role in local culture. Although raised in Florida, he has lived in this area for decades, getting to know local plants and the folklore surrounding them.
He is happy to lead visitors through the rows and around the beds of the garden, pointing out buds or nubs of vegetables and explaining more about each plant. Till encourages youngsters to pull berries, free of chemicals, right off the bush and plop them in their mouths to add taste to the tactile and olfactory engagement in the garden.
He hopes teachers will take advantage of the space as an education tool once class is back in session, and wants families to visit for fun.
Till’s gardening knowledge is largely self-taught; he has made an effort to plant something new every year. It stems from his time in his grandmother’s garden, where strange-looking Egyptian onions – which grow bulbs above ground – ignited a curiosity that grew into a passion for plants. The onions now line one of the fences in the Grove plot.
His venture into community gardening began three years ago when he offered to plant flowers in a median strip near GCOC. Till wanted to reward the nonprofit’s employees with some cheer.
“And then I snuck in some vegetables,” Till said.
That variety, with flowers alongside fruit, drives the organization in his planting in the larger garden space.
GCOC has been one of the many community groups to come forward and assist Till in getting the larger garden up and running. He has received donations of seeds and gift cards, as well as a number of volunteers who have pledged their support in hours spent toiling in the sun.
In May, Till incorporated the project under Rob Till Community Gardens, which will give him the opportunity to expand into areas of the county. He is also working to obtain official nonprofit status.
With the garden already blooming happily, Till’s vision for the garden extends far into the future.
In addition to the raised beds he installed – which held the soil drain after large rainfalls – Till has put in handicapped-accessible beds, where planters can work without bending over or crouching.
He has reached out to Wounded Warriors in the hopes that some veterans who are disabled can come enjoy the garden, even without exercising a green thumb.
“They don’t have to come work,” Till said. “They can come read a book. … They can know that they’re welcome.”
Till pictures a pergola guiding guests into the center of the garden, where he has designated a bed to remember the land once home to Native Americans. He hopes to construct a longhouse miniature and add other pieces of Native American culture to the spot.
“I want to honor the fact that his was their land. They deserve that,” he said.
Till has also set aside a portion of the garden free from vegetation, which he calls the children’s theater. It can be used for group gatherings, yoga or a puppet show.
His ultimate goal would be to host a wedding there.
To learn more or make a donation, contact Till at 332-3361 or at [email protected].
