How their gardens grow

Melissa Adams

Most of their kids are grown and have kids of their own. Yet their

nurturing instincts are still hard at work, cultivating beets, corn,

beans, lettuce, tomatoes and onions.

There are showy displays of artichokes, cabbages the size of beach

balls and carrots that could double as baseball bats in Oasis’ Elgin

Hall Gardens. In 15-by-15-foot plots with purely aesthetic yields,

gladiolus, roses and zinnias bloom alongside the profusion of salad

fixings.

Set behind the Corona del Mar senior center on a sun-kissed third

of an acre, the 11-year-old Oasis garden is the bountiful enterprise

of some 70 gardeners in their golden years. While everyone lucky

enough to have a piece of the action is responsible for his or her

own parcel, there’s an informal neighborhood watch system in place.

“If someone has too many weeds, they’ll get a letter,” says Doug

Coulter, a six-year Oasis Garden Club veteran who has served as its

president for the past five.

Propelled into its ranks by his wife, who objected to the 15 pots

in their yard, the Big Canyon resident has collected eight Orange

County Fair ribbons for his green thumb. Over the years, his

prize-winning harvests have included a 10-pound beet, as well as

succulent squash and rutabagas.

Biggest is not always best, Coulter affirms, pointing to rows of

organic products within the garden’s 57 plots. Tending to some is

Mary Rouse, whose magnificent yields rise from the soil without the

aid of man-made toxins.

Rouse is among many Oasis gardeners with staunch concern for the

environment. Such concern supports the recycling of virtually

all-natural waste from the garden. Clippings are shredded, mixed with

wood chips and bone meal, and transformed into natural compost at an

on-site operation that serves as a civic model.

Hardy Bob Robinson volunteers for more energy-intensive duties,

including rototilling the soil. While he’s a relative newcomer to

gardening, the Harbor View resident boasts about 10 different

vegetables he grew last summer that filled his family’s produce needs

for three months.

“I gave away 250 cucumbers to friends at church,” he reveals.

Fellow gardener Jim Terry, now in his 90s, spills the beans about

similar generosity, having supplied neighbors with corn, beets,

zucchini and other produce for the past six years.

Beyond the goodwill, there’s enmity -- for bugs, squirrels and

rabbits that forage amid the carrots and potatoes for tasty meals.

Once a month, Oasis gardeners gather to discuss how to thwart their

scavenging, as well as how to best coax produce, herbs and flowers

from the earth. Horticulturalists from Armstrong Garden Centers,

Rogers Gardens and Home Depot frequently provide wise counsel.

An interest in growing things is the only requirement for

attending these meetings. In addition to gardening tips, those who

frequent them are likely to harvest a bounty of friendship with

like-minded seniors.

* MELISSA ADAMS is the Newport Beach recreation and senior

services coordinator. Oasis Senior Center is a hub for older adults

social and information services, at 5th Street and Narcissus Avenue

in Corona del Mar. For more information about the center and its

activities, please call (949) 644-3244.