When time feels uncertain, the world seems upside down. When jobs disappear, the news is heavy, and the heart feels tired. Hope may seem hard to find. Then, we place our hands in the soil and remember what we are made of. Here, in the Mohawk Valley, gardening has always been a part of life. However, in challenging times, it becomes something more. It becomes a lifeline.
It starts with a small patch of earth. Stubborn soil full of stones. A choice to dig anyway. A need to care for something. A reminder that life still moves forward. Is there anything more hopeful than a seed in your hand? What a sacred act. To bury a seed. To take a tiny, fragile speck and place it in the dark. To trust, and desperately hope, that it will rise. To water, to wait, to sprout, to stretch. Alive. Unapologetic. Miraculous.
The garden teaches us that growth is sometimes slow. That not everything survives. That sometimes the tomatoes don’t ripen. The rain doesn’t come or comes down too heavy. Then, often when we least expect it, that one sunflower wildly blooms and beauty still finds a way.
We live in a world obsessed with speed and certainty. The garden offers neither. What it offers instead is presence. Humility. A deep, earth-centered peace. It asks nothing from us, but our attention.
Hope doesn’t always come in grand gestures or loud declarations. Sometimes, it comes as softly as the first green leaf after a long winter. The smell of basil in the sun. A pollen-covered bee in a bloom you planted. Neighbors sharing extra seedlings or swapping cucumbers for zucchini over the fence. These quiet exchanges, simple as they may seem, tell us that we’re not alone. We are bound by soil and season to grow something greater than ourselves.
If life feels too heavy right now, plant something. Anything. A seed, a dream, a promise to yourself. Tend and watch it grow. Tend and watch you grow. Even in the darkest seasons, the earth remembers how to begin again.
And so can we.
Alexandra Tamburro is a NY Public Health Fellow assigned to Cornell Cooperative Extension Herkimer County. She is committed to contributing to civic programs that strengthen local communities, address social problems, and provide disaster preparedness. With fifteen years of experience in disaster relief across the United States and the Virgin Islands, she has worked on the ground in communities affected by natural crises, helping to rebuild and support recovery efforts. Additionally, Alexandra co-created a community garden in Frankfort to address food insecurity, foster local connections, and promote environmental stewardship. On the weekends, you may find her with her camera in hand at her shop, Main Street Mercantile, in Little Falls. Her photography and writing have been used by various non-profits and featured in art galleries throughout New York State.
Article published May 13, 2025.
