Judy and Damon Simpson

Saw it All

by Joni Johnson

Damon and Judy Simpson

Damon and Judy Simpson moved into their cottage right above the old garden which is now the Memory Center. A year later, they took on the job of Garden Coordinators thinking they could look down on the venue from their living room and patio.  Wrong.  A year later, Greg Tuman and his crew began the slow and arduous task of moving the entire garden from its flat 50 or so beds to the three-tiered 107 bed location it occupies today just below RV parking. In fact, the three-tier design was Greg’s idea. First they had to move the two tool sheds and the gazebo.  The tool sheds were moved to the bottom and middle level and then a new larger one was built at the top level which includes a bathroom (something which I am sure makes everyone very happy).

Because the move originally meant more available gardens than gardeners, the decision about who would get what garden was based on a first-come first-serve basis with a few basic rules needing to be observed.  For example, Raspberries and other berries with the exception of Blueberries are quite invasive so they were not allowed in the upper level. Trees were also moved to the lower level as were grapes.   Other than that, people got to choose their spot.

As the pandemic hit, gardening became a much more popular pastime and now there is actually a waiting list for available garden plots.  Gardening was a place you could see friends, have something to do and something to get passionate about.  It’s the green version of cats and dogs.  Something to love.

Being Garden Coordinators has its joys and tribulations.  Of course, one of its great joys is the chance to get to know so many avid gardeners.  Damon and Judy don’t see themselves as master gardeners. They don’t see their role as advice givers but more as making life in the garden work more smoothly.  They say that oddly enough, the old gardens were much messier than the new ones and that people are now much better at keeping their beds cleaned.  The only big issue is WEEDS.  Most people are good about weeding, but sometimes, they have to be reminded to keep their gardens from encroaching on others.

A big part of the job besides getting to know everyone and dealing with individual issues as they come up, is ordering fertilizer and maintaining a good computerized system of who has which plot, keeping track of the assigned cubby holes, what needs to be done when, etc.  People in the gardens are wonderfully supportive of one another. Sometimes people fall ill and can’t take care of their gardens and people try to help. But there does come a time when we have to help them decide if it is time to let others take over their spot.

As Judy and Damon put it, “We loved our six years on the job but we are excited to let Mike and Vicki Rugg take over.  We look forward to seeing where they will take the gardens during their time as Garden Supervisors.  It’s always nice to have new ideas and new directions.”