Featured Garden: Wise Words Garden

My family always had small gardens when I was growing up. However, my own gardening life began after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

I realized that if we didn't fight to keep our own natural resources here in New Orleans, no one else was going to do that for us. One of these natural resources is fresh, naturally grown fruit and vegetables. New Orleanians are losing access to these resources that are necessary for a sustainable, healthy life. Everyone should be able to afford and access fresh food if they want it!

My favorite plant is okra. It is so resilient, so plentiful, and can be used in so many different ways. Okra has the potential to feed a lot of people.

Our deck is the pride of our garden. We host local chefs on our deck from Spring to Fall. Here in New Orleans, we love food, and what better way to showcase our culinary culture than to have chefs exploring out in a garden and cooking with ingredients picked directly from that garden.

My greatest challenge is changing the way people think about food. Naturally grown food is something that can improve your health, sense of self-worth and fill your belly. It doesn't have to be just the latter.

I want my members to understand that these vegetable are packed with essential vitamins that can improve their well-being. We are living in a consumer culture. I want my members to get out of the box grocery store mindset and back to putting their stock into the ground. The ground will always be there.

Continue to be open to learning new things.