High 5: Church Garden In Davis County Helps Feed Community

BOUNTIFUL, Utah – Now that we’re getting into the winter season, it’s not exactly the time to think about your garden.

But there’s a church in Davis County that always has gardening in mind – and for many good reasons.

Many residents in Bountiful are grateful for the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection’s community garden – and it’s not just for the surrounding community.

The summer growing season has come and gone, but the community garden isn’t going anywhere. The people in the neighborhood are happy about that.

“We are so grateful because, for us, it has become a part of our life,” said gardener Hade Bosteels. “We share seven plots for both our two families.”

Outside the church are the communities gardens, which are about 250 feet long with close to 40 plots.

Wim Ray and his wife, Linnay, are some of the founders who started the garden approximately 10 years ago.

“We had sort of a future parking lot that remained fallow ground for several years,” Wim said. “… We said, ‘We need to do some gardening here. There are a lot community gardens popping up, and we need to do that!’ So a close friend came with his tractor and plowed up the land, and did the same thing the next year, and the next year.”

Plowing the land turned out to be a great idea.

Vegetables and flowers started to fill the space. More and more people got involved. Soon, the garden plots were full of all kinds of variety.

The Rev. Lyn Zill Briggs said the garden has become a vital part of the church not just for parishioners, but for people who don’t even belong to the faith.

“I think it’s part of our mission – to help people … be more connected with the earth and more relaxed,” Zill Briggs said. “I don’t think it gets any better than that.”

The gardeners come from different backgrounds. Some have years of experience and others are newcomers.

“It’s been very interesting to see the different ideas that people have, and what works well and what doesn’t,” said gardener Anne Blankenship.”We’re always sharing ideas back and forth.”

The gardeners go the extra mile by occasionally donating the extra food to the Bountiful Food Pantry.

To show their gratitude what the parishioners of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection are doing for their neighborhood and their county, America First Credit Union donated $200 to go toward the community gardens.

The gardeners said they’re looking forward to many more years of good gardening – and they can’t wait for spring.

Do you know someone doing good in our community? A friend or family member building up neighbors or a coworker giving selflessly? Click here to nominate them for a KSL High 5.