A foraging day in The Green Garden orchard

This morning, Amora went into the garden again. Before I even had a chance to see what she was going to do, she was already looking for the fruits that might be ripe today. She walked from one bush to another, carefully checking which fruits were ready to be picked.

And as I watched her, I thought to myself: she has actually learned so much here.

When she first started discovering the garden, she would pick almost everything she saw. As soon as there was a little fruit growing on a plant, she naturally wanted to pick it. It didn’t take long for her, with a little guidance from us, to realize that not every fruit that looks ready is actually ready to eat. Some fruits are still hard, sour, or simply not ripe enough. We explained to her that fruit needs time to grow and ripen.

Through this, she has learned that you can’t always have everything immediately. Sometimes you have to wait until something is truly ready. By now, she walks through the garden almost every day to see which fruits are ripe. If a fruit isn’t ready yet, she leaves it hanging. And when she sees that it has ripened, she knows it’s time to pick it.

I find it so special to watch this process. Because in reality, she is learning something that goes far beyond knowing when to pick a fruit. She is learning patience. She is learning to observe. She is learning that you don’t have to have everything immediately. I think children sometimes learn much more by experiencing something for themselves than when we try to explain it to them. Amora doesn’t only hear from us that she needs to be patient. The garden teaches her that too. An unripe strawberry that tastes sour can sometimes teach her more than a thousand words.

And honestly, it is also a beautiful reminder for us as adults. We too can learn to wait until the fruit is truly ripe. We live in a world where we often want everything quickly: quick results, quick growth, and quick harvests. But every year, the garden reminds us that some things simply take time.

Sometimes, you just have to let something grow.

It also reminds me of the biblical principle of sowing and reaping. What you sow today, you may not see the results of tomorrow. Sometimes it takes months or even years before you can harvest what you have planted. That requires patience and trust. The garden reminds me that we can sow, nurture, and faithfully care for what God has entrusted to us, but ultimately, He is the One who gives the growth.

This year, there has been so much to harvest in the orchard. Especially the berries and other soft fruits have grown abundantly. Every time I walk through the garden, I am amazed by how much is growing here.

This year, we were able to harvest so many blackberries, as well as grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and so much more. It gives me such a good feeling every time I come out of the garden with a full harvest.

Not only because it is wonderful to have so much fruit, but especially because you can literally see what has come from all the work. First, there is a small plant. You take care of it. You give it water. You wait. You see the first blossoms appear. Then the first tiny fruits begin to grow, and eventually, you suddenly have a full basket.That process remains so special to me.

Sometimes I simply walk through the garden and suddenly realize how much has changed in such a short time. What started as an idea a few years ago is now literally growing right before our eyes. Plants that started out small have grown into bushes that give us more and more every year. The garden continues to show me that growth is not always immediately visible. Sometimes, for a while, it seems like nothing is happening. You water, you care for the plants, you wait, and you wonder when something will finally happen. And then, suddenly, you see growth.

Life often works the same way. Maybe that is also why I have grown to love gardening so much. The garden is no longer just a place where we grow food. It has also become a place where I learn, reflect, and find peace.This year, we were also able to organize our very first foraging day in the orchard. A day where children, volunteers, and young people from the independent living training center were invited to come into the garden together and pick fruit themselves.

We walked through the orchard together and looked at which fruits were ripe. The children were able to pick the fruit themselves while also learning how to recognize different fruits and when they are ready to be harvested. And of course, there was plenty of tasting along the way.What I love about a foraging day like this is that it is not just about the fruit someone gets to take home. It is also about the experience. Being outside, working with your hands, discovering where food comes from, and experiencing that sometimes you have to wait before you can harvest something.

This is exactly what we want to create with the orchard. A place where people from our community are welcome to participate and enjoy what the garden produces. Next year, we want to expand this even further. Our goal is to give even more people within our community the opportunity to come and forage for free in the orchard. Because when the garden produces an abundance, we believe that abundance is meant to be shared.

I don’t know exactly how big The Green Garden will eventually become. But I do know that I increasingly envision this as a place where people are welcome. Children who come to learn about plants, people from our community who come together to harvest, and volunteers who help along the way. Perhaps one day, people who are experiencing gardening for the very first time. Simply a place where you are welcome, where you can come and receive something, but perhaps also bring something of your own.

This year, Rockey, Amora, and I used part of our grape harvest to make our own grape juice. It was simply a fun experiment as a family. Picking the grapes together, working with them, trying things out, laughing, tasting, and eventually making our own grape juice.These may seem like small moments that might not seem very special at first, but these are exactly the moments that make life meaningful to me. Being together, discovering together, and enjoying something that we have grown ourselves.

When I look back at how The Green Garden started and see how the garden looks today, I feel truly grateful. The plants are becoming stronger. The harvest is growing. And more and more people are able to enjoy it.

And perhaps that is ultimately what a garden means to me. Not only what you can harvest for yourself, but also what you can share.