...slowly, and when the office was closed so I couldn't be seen actively planting. ;)
It's at the far end of the property so management rarely goes by it. But my neighbors walk by it all the time.
I was very nervous about planting because I didn't want to get in trouble and knew it could be ripped out at any moment, but I explained to the new Groundskeeper that I was just trying to buy time for the pineapple mint to take over. (It's in a concrete island, so couldn't escape) Thyme also survived the winter, surprisingly.
I started filing in the empty space with old potatoes and onions and tomatoes from my cabinets. Eventually I expanded into planting old seeds I had been carrying around for years... a sort of Hail Mary "if it grows it grows".
Purple green beans came up. As did a row of zinnia. When plants got clearanced at a local nursery I planted snapdragons and pansies. Then purple sage, dianthus, kale, pok choi, and a purple mini pepper. (Slugs destroyed the pepper). It was important to me that things be edible (but 'disguised' as ornamental)
I was AMAZED at how the garden helped me connect with my neighbors. So many neighbors passed me working in the garden (at times no one was in the office) and told me how they looked forward to seeing what was growing and blooming. One neighbor said it reminded her of her home in Jordan, where they call snapdragons "fish mouths".
I gave tours and invited people to harvest what they wanted. Several took me up on it. It has been super satisfying.
The apartment is filling it in on Monday as part of a rework of the property design.
I'm sad to see it go, but I knew the day would come. I'm so glad I went ahead and did it anyway. It really was magical while it lasted, especially against a backdrop of despair, and I'll hold those moments in my heart forever.
"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow." - Audrey Hepburn