A light breeze rustles the leaves overhead and a few chickens
peck the ground between rows of still-fresh tomatoes, peppers and
squash. An orange cat chases his own shadow and loses it for good
under the billowing drape of a fanciful scare-crow’s skirt.
A light breeze rustles the leaves overhead and a few chickens peck the ground between rows of still-fresh tomatoes, peppers and squash. An orange cat chases his own shadow and loses it for good under the billowing drape of a fanciful scare-crow’s skirt.
It’s hard to believe the busy intersection of Third Street and San Benito is just two blocks away from this secluded hilltop on Hill Street in Hollister, home to panoramic views and one of the only community gardens in the area. “I like to spend as much time up here as I can,” says Robin Pollard, a yoga instructor at Hollister’s YMCA who started the garden in 1999. “I prefer the mornings. There are fewer people.”
Pollard’s mouth widens to a grin and she chuckles, “That, and I don’t really like to sweat.”
A wheelbarrow overflowing with weeds attests to her labors. Like most days, she’s been up since 5:30am. Right now she’s taking a break, rubbing onto her pant legs the dirt that has accumulated inside her gloves, as she surveys what was once an overgrown vacant lot.
“We bought the house next door, but it was already landscaped,” said Pollard. “It was city property, and they didn’t want to give it away. I had read a lot about community gardens, and it said that most were started by squatting, so when the city came and cleaned out the lot, I said, ‘Here’s my chance.'”
Pollard’s husband asked what she wanted for Christmas. She insisted on a tractor, so he rented her one for the day, and they plowed up enough dead vegetation for five bonfires.
The yoga instructor painted the concrete walkway bisecting the property and planted a small parcel in the half-acre space. No one said anything. Pollard had a half-dozen tenants on the property by New Year’s. Still nothing. They decided to celebrate by burning the cleared vegetation.
“We started off with a small fire, but about 10:30 we put a little fuel oil on it,” said Pollard. “The fire department came by and put it out. A week later I got a letter from the city and I thought, ‘Uh-oh. I’m in trouble now.'”
Instead of fining her, the city invited Pollard to sit on the parks restoration committee and gave her a brand-new shed for equipment. Her nephew and his friends spray-painted it in summery fluorescent streaks. Next came a letter from the San Benito County Foundation – they wanted to give Pollard a $1,000 grant. Shovels, rakes and a rototiller were all ordered at no cost to tenants.
That first brush with community activism inspired Pollard. She began a letter-writing campaign and started peppering the shed’s interior with the names of donors. Rain For Rent delivered the parts for a water system that gave every tenant his or her own water station. Sonoma Valley Seedings gave them a variety of free seeds to plant. A woman who lived in the Ridgemark housing development heard about the garden and donated the unused greenhouse taking up space on her property.
In the last four years, said Pollard, she has asked and received on all but one occasion. She won’t say who it was, though.
“I have this weird gifting magnet,” she said. “I don’t want to lose that because I said something bad about them. Bad karma, you know?”
Tenants can plant whatever they like in the garden – provided it’s legal – and the plots, separated by railroad ties, are free to anyone who wants one. There are 10 tenants there now, who garden in plots of varying sizes.
Dave Bulman, 72, and his son Dave, Jr., 43, have gardened in the space for two seasons now.
“We grow all kinds of things: Carrots, potatoes, garlic, cucumbers,” said Dave, Jr., who lives with his father just across the street from the garden. “It’s called idle time, and it’s better than twiddling your thumbs. We use it ourselves, so things are always fresh, and we give stuff to my brother.”
While she hopes the garden will become part of Vista Hill Park in the next few years, Pollard isn’t done planning yet.
“I keep having this vision of it being terraced and beautiful like in China, but if I walked away today, this field would be in much better shape than it was when I found it,” she said.
Plot distribution will be reconfigured in January. For more information, call Pollard at (831) 637-0949.
