With all of the goings-on to entice and distract Benicians this summer— the farmers market, the Waterfront Festival, boat racing, return of the Red and White fleet, the Paris Olympics, political campaigns, and escalating wars, there is a spot of calm on First Street that nourishes the body and feeds the soul — Avant Garden — our jardin publique or community garden.
A play on the French term avant garde, it’s located on the corner of First and D Streets and is a habitat for people and critters to gather — adults, kids, teeners, toddlers, and babies meet squirrels, blue jays, butterflies, lady bugs, and frogs. The Garden is a special draw for families on Thursday eves during the market when they set up their spreads on picnic tables and kids play hide and seek behind the cherry tomatoes. Created by Marilyn Bardet and Larry Lamaroux in 2010, the Garden is currently stewarded by Maggie and Jack Kolk and administered by Sustainable Solano.
Was given a tour Friday of the lush space that is now at its seasonal zenith in terms of blooms, fruits, and vegetables. Zinnias and lavender vie with melons, tomatoes, squash, and herb gardens of basil, rosemary, and thyme to create a verdant space for contemplation and nourishment. Over 30 local residents rent plots that they lovingly tend — farm to table in the current vernacular. Anyone can bring in their lunch, dinner or snacks and park themselves at one of several picnic tables or simply sit and admire the monarchs and bees pollinating everything in sight. A layer of wood chips lines the paths between individual plots to make for dust free traipsing. A children’s garden is in the works.
According to Garden volunteers, thousands of tourists, locals, and families from all over the world visit each year. The old-fashioned flowers, including carnations and snapdragons, reminded me of our childhood plot where my sisters and I grew Canterbury Bells and Sweet William from seeds. What magic to see the first green shoots! Dad would string up sweet peas every spring and delight our family, friends and neighbors with the pink, purple, blue, and white bouquets. A whiff of them today and I’m transported back to those happy times.
We in Benicia have been fortunate for the past 14 years to have this refuge in our midst. For everything there is a season. Enjoy it while you can as the gardeners have been promised one more year at this location to make way for the possible development of a four-story hotel.
Children’s Play Garden
On the same property is the Waldorf-inspired, nature-based preschool Root & Bloom Play Gardens. “I think the easiest way to describe it is it’s a holistic approach to child development utilizing the physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects of each child,” said owner and teacher Kati Kaniaru, AKA Ms. Kati.
Serving six or so children from the ages of 2-5 years old, Root and Bloom was inspired by the outdoor preschool in Martinez where she previously taught. “I realized Benicia needed something similar,” she said. Ms. Kati, her husband and two children live in the airy, and light-filled house on the property. This is clearly more than a job for her as she radiates joy and warmth. “I am so grateful to be able to live this life and to do work that I love” she shared.
Based on a model inspired by Austrian philosopher, scientist, spiritualist, and mystic Rudolph Steiner, Root and Bloom utilizes a whole-child approach based on experience, imitation, empathy, and imaginative play.
“We provide a warm and beautiful environment because children take in deeply what they hear, see, and feel. Our indoor space is full of natural materials — wooden toys, handmade puppets, and high quality art supplies,” said Ms. Kati. I didn’t see a plastic toy, or anything plastic, for that matter, on the premises.
“A large portion of each day is spent outdoors playing in the garden, where children engage in unstructured activities with natural elements — logs, mud, sand, and water,” she said.
Did she say “Mud?” I flashed back to the fun we had as kids swimming in the open ditches dug for sewer lines in our new housing development after rain had filled them with mud that looked like chocolate pudding. You haven’t lived until you’ve done the breast stroke in fresh, squishy mud. Afterwards, we’d have to sneak into the garage to wash up before Mom caught us. But I digress.
As I sat on a wooden bench watching exotic and enormous black and white chickens in the nearby chicken coop, I was served corn on the cob, freshly picked and shucked by the little people who looked like Campbell Soup kids in their big sun hats. I hadn’t realized that you don’t have to steam corn on the cob —it’s just fine fresh off the vine and oh so sweet. One of the volunteers baked a scrumptious zucchini cake using the garden squash. One little boy concentrated mightily on his second ear of corn on the cob, hunkered down over the miniature picnic table oblivious to the others who played in the Fairy Garden.
I was given a goody bag of fresh off the vine green beans also picked by the darling munchkins and an old fashioned bouquet that reminded me of my own garden as a child — bright pink carnations, orange zinnias, and yellow daisies. They also gave me a small pumpkin. Alas, the sweet peas had just finished blooming and had gone to seed.
“Our program is thriving with a waitlist, and we hope to expand in the upcoming year,” said Ms. Kati. Rootandbloomplaygarden.com.
In my next life I want to be a Waldorf kid!
Letters From Benicia 