Planting the seeds of community: garden to provide solace, beauty and nourishment in downtown Canton

Aug. 31—CANTON — In just a few months, members of the Pigeon River Garden Club have transformed a small section of the Canton Recreation Park, close to downtown, into a naturalist's dream spot.

There are native flowers galore, vegetables ready for harvest, small fruits ready for the picking, and even a "reading tent" where children can grab a book from the small, decorative library box and spend time relaxing outdoors with a book.

The community garden is still a work in progress, however. Plans call for every inch of the 0.4-acre site to eventually be covered with native plantings and garden crops that will provide fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to all who stop by.

Passersby can pick a few berries or a squash, gather a few snippets of herbs or a handful of beans. It is also meant to be a place of solace for those in need of a quiet place to contemplate the beauty and the wonder of all that's in place.

The garden club has partnered with Canton Middle School and Pisgah High School so that the garden and outdoor pavilion will also double as a hands-on, outdoor classroom. The community garden site is located along the Pigeon River greenway as it enters the downtown area, beside Riverview Farm and Garden.

Explore the garden

One of the featured plant pairings in the garden is called the "three sisters" — an agricultural trinity of corn, squash and beans developed by Native Americans.

"By planting corn, squash and beans together, the beans climb up the corn stalks, and the squash provides shade and keeps out the weeds," explained Mike Yates, who works diligently with his wife, Marty, in creating the community garden. "It's a perfectly balanced meal."

In addition to the flowers, herbs, vegetables and fruit, gardeners from across the county have created fruit tree guilds, which are fruit trees paired with the perfect type of plants at their base to help the them thrive.

The different plants provide the ideal the nutrients specifically needed by each fruit tree, Marty Yates explained.

"At the base of each fruit tree is a native plant, a pollinator or an edible that contributes to the health of the fruit tree," she said, noting so far a peach, pear, apple, fig and papaw tree have been planted.

The club is readying a space for a grape arbor near the open air pavilion where classes for both students and adults can be conducted, and has a great start on the bird sanctuary, an area circled by native stones with trees and plants inside that will attract birds of all sorts.

The area will eventually contain benches where those strolling along the recreation park's nearby path or simply seeking a quiet place to meditate can seek out.

"We're putting in a sensory garden," Marty Yates said as she strolled past the beehive-shaped wooden structure where plants will appeal to sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell. "We'll plant grasses that swish and rattling seed heads for the sound. We're trying to set an example of how to garden holistically."

An added benefit to the gardens is that they will be beneficial to the flood-prone area. That's because the root systems will provide erosion control.

Volunteers make the difference

There are work sessions at the garden on Wednesdays and Saturdays where a good number of the club's 42 or so members show up to put in hard labor to make the dream possible.

The transformation over the summer has caught the attention of those who regularly use the town's walking trail at the park.

Kellie Jaynes and Ginger Young were walking last week when they struck up a conversation with Marty Yates and left with hands full of beans to put in a summer soup.

"This is very innovative," Young said. "You can tell a lot of thought and planning went into it. We're just now seeing the gazebo take shape and that really adds a lot."

Both walk the park trail regularly and have been excited with each new development — the ones yet to come.

"I especially love the story book walk that's planned," Jaynes said. "My grandchildren will love that."

Young, a former math teacher, said the hexagon-shaped sensory garden, could be a great teaching tool.

One couple who live in the neighborhood noticed all the developments and would come over after their day job to create a planter in one of the stumps along the walkway.

Not knowing how to reach the creative family, Yates said the club left a note thanking them for their contributions and inviting them to become members. That led to the addition of two more to the club — Steve and Kim Miller.

"We've gathered about a dozen new members since this project started," Mike Yates said. "There's a real mix of all ages. Each brings some kind of skill and others say they don't know a thing about gardening, so we show them. We're hoping the community really embraces the garden and orchard and can take care of it."

Brenda Merefield is a master gardener from Waynesville and is helping spearhead the Canton project along with the Yates.

"The big thing here has been the volunteer community. It's been remarkable to see how many want to see this happen," Merefield said.

Scarecrows for a good cause

So far, the work on the garden and the triangle entrance near the Pigeon River and the town's entrance have been funded with grants.

Of the $11,000 grant from the Cruso Endowment, $7,500 was for the flagpole garden and $3,500 went toward the community orchard garden. Another $3,500 from the Food Justice Planning Initiative has helped make work done so far possible, and the club has also raised money for the project.

But to complete the plans, another $3,000 is needed.

That's why the club has planned an innovative and creative fundraiser that involves community groups, school classes and scarecrows.

"We're planning a scarecrow trail," Marty Yates explained. "High school and middle school classes are already making plans, and we're partnered with the Canton Merchants Association."

The garden club will deliver three bales of straw to each of the participants, and the scarecrows will be displayed not only downtown, but in the recreation park gardens.

The community will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite scarecrows by purchasing $1 tickets. All the proceeds will help fund future projects and plantings at the garden areas.

To contribute to the garden send donations, which are tax deductible, to Pigeon River Garden Club, c/o Champion Credit Union, 3 Academy St, Canton, NC 28716.