Diane O’Bryan, left, and her granddaughter, Moira, 4, on Friday check out the lot where a new community garden will be placed in Lakeside. The garden, which will have raised beds, some flower beds and some vegetable beds, also will be handicapped-accessible. The garden is intended to help facilitate healing a rift in the community after several political recalls in recent months. World Photo by Susan Chambers

A little dirt under the fingernails may not seem like much of a remedy, but some citizens believe it could be the perfect poultice to heal a rift within the city of Lakeside.

Formed specifically to create projects that will bring the community together, the Lakeside Parks Advisory/Community Garden Committee will be celebrating the groundbreaking of the city’s first community garden this Saturday.

Diane O’Bryan, the committee’s president, said the garden will mean much for the community, especially after it was divided during a “nasty” recall election last fall. The recall ripped apart the Lakeside City Council, removing two councilors and the mayor and leaving the rest of the community reeling. 

That’s when the committee and its mission to start up a garden was formed.

“The new council said, ‘Let’s do something to bring the community together,’” O’Bryan said, adding that she is amazed by the show of interest for the project already, including a number of people who have donated dirt, wood and other items to piece it together. “We haven’t even put a post in the ground and people are already asking about it.”

The group operates under the auspices of the South Coast Community Garden Association in Coos Bay, which oversees the Ladybug Landing community garden, O’Bryan said. 

Located next to Lakeside City Hall, 915 North Lake Road, the 5,508 square-foot parcel for the future communal garden will be separated into 14 plots. Each can be rented by community members to grow herb, vegetable and flower gardens or a mixture of all three. O’Bryan said she also plans to hold workshops, fundraisers and other events at the site, much like what can be found at Ladybug Landing.

“It isn’t just a few people putting plants in the ground. It’s something they will see grow and it’s going to be more of a happening place. This is just the first step in seeing the community grow as a unit.”

The plots range in height and size, with the largest being 60 square feet, and several will be wheelchair accessible. One plot will be donated to the Kidzone after-school program, giving children a place to dig in the dirt and learn the joy of growing things. And for gardeners who grow too much zucchini or other veggies, the leftover bounty will go to the Lakeside Senior Center.

No trees, shrubs, berry bushes or pesticide use will be allowed in the community garden. Anybody in Coos County is allowed to rent a plot for about $20 a year, but Lakeside residents will get first dibs, O’Bryan said.

The group also has worked together to beautify City Hall, planting flowers in front of the building and along a walkway leading to the community garden.

Lakeside City Councilor Mack Eubanks, who serves on the Parks Advisory/Community Garden Committee, said he liked the notion of forming a community garden because he wanted something that could mend the sense of community in the small town. 

“That was kind of why I ran on the council,” he said. “I thought it was just a super idea, if we could get (it) off the ground and make it work.”

He said he has been enthused by the response, as 15 people sit on the committee and more and more join as the garden gets closer to fruition.

Beyond a gathering place for the community, Eubanks said it also will allow people to eat more healthfully by growing their own produce.

“We have some master gardeners who will help them grow vegetables for their table,” Eubanks said.

He added that the groundbreaking will give gardeners and planners a chance to get the garden set up before serious planting begins in late winter or early spring.

“We will be working on and off all winter to get ready for spring. We want it ready for everybody who wants to plant,” Eubanks said.

O’Bryan said she hopes the garden will become a popular place for the community, but believes the groundbreaking, and time, will tell if it is the right stuff to glue Lakeside back together again.

“It will be amazing to see what’s going to happen.”