Tracy Citeroni and Mark Lewis
Over the past decade, Mark Lewis and Tracy Citeroni’s “giving garden” has become a staple in their Woodland Heights neighborhood, fostering a sense of community and allowing those who pass by to take their pick of fresh vegetables and herbs.
Gardening played a large role in both of their childhoods, and it felt natural to carry on the tradition, they say. Citeroni’s father planted a large garden every year, and Lewis’ grandfather cultivated a “giving garden” of his own.
“[My grandfather] was always very giving with his produce and would grow enough for his family and neighbors,” Lewis says. “Growing up in a rural area, that’s kind of what you do as far as taking care of the community.”
Citeroni has fond memories of planting, harvesting and cooking produce from her family garden, which led her to plant her own gardens wherever she lived as an adult, even if it meant just a few potted tomato and basil plants in an apartment, she says.
Her love for gardening has also flowed into her work as a sociology professor at the University of Mary Washington.
“In the last 15 years or so, this family history began to coalesce with my commitment to social justice and career as a sociologist, and I began to study food justice and explore its academic and activist manifestations,” she says. “When Mark and I moved into our house and began working on the garden, we both became enamored of the idea of a front yard garden to share with neighbors.”
Each year, the couple dedicates the garden to a cause or current event. The garden’s first dedication was in memory of a neighbor who died, while this year’s garden was planted in honor of the health care and other essential workers on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19, Lewis says.
The garden has been a great conversation starter and has become a fun way of meeting neighbors and creating friendships, he adds.
“We have these serendipitous interactions with neighbors, … and people have been very appreciative, as far as even people have left kind notes in our mailbox,” he says. “I think also just the act of kindness, speaking with some of the people, has kind of inspired them to have that same kind of giving nature.”
Neighbors and friends Tom Linneman and Farhang Rouhani have lived in Woodland Heights for 14 years.
“We've loved watching the garden develop over time,” Linneman says. “We regularly take things from it. A couple of weeks ago, we were on our way to see friends we hadn't seen since before the pandemic, and we just stopped on the way and clipped some flowers from the garden to bring.”
Tomatoes have been the most popular item grown in the garden, while eggplant was a failed experiment, Lewis says.
“[Tomatoes] are easy to pick, so that’s kind of been the mainstay of the garden, but we also plant squash, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, basil, hot peppers, zucchini, tomatillo,” he says. “For the most part, those are the kind of the things that are relatively easy to grow and that can provide something for whoever may be walking by.”
Citeroni has loved the conversations the garden has sparked among neighbors. “They always take me back to the small town I grew up in near Pittsburgh,” she says, “where neighbors set up tables by the side of the road to share produce they had grown and to have conversations with neighbors and folks just passing by.
“They also give me hope in times of profound social despair, renewing my faith in the power of people to nourish each other, forge meaningful bonds and exercise solidarity in the struggle for social justice. I know, I know, it’s just a garden — but truly, it encapsulates so much more.”
Since the pandemic began, the couple have also created a small library in their front yard, filled with pamphlets and books. The “L’il Info Shop” is free for people to borrow and take items as they please, with an option to donate money to restock it.
“It’s specifically curated for progressive literature,” Lewis says. “It’s basically 95% zines, like small pamphlets, and [it] has a lot of different topics, ranging from gardening to bicycles to gender to activism, even some children’s reading and self-help.”
The L’il Info Shop was created as another community asset and a way for people to learn about things they might not otherwise be exposed to, Lewis says.
“One day we saw a young woman taking a couple of books from it, and she said she was taking a book about buying your first home, since she was just starting to plan to do so,” Linneman says. “Such a nice moment.”
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