Culture in Bloom: Community Garden Gather & Swap
GARDENINGCULTUREENGLISHLIFESTYLE
Grace Li
4/20/20264 min read
One of the event's greatest successes was the strong sense of community that developed throughout the afternoon. Gardeners were excited to meet others who shared similar interests, exchanging practical growing tips, favorite plant varieties, and personal stories across cultures and generations. Many participants left not only with new plants and gardening supplies, but also with new friendships and renewed enthusiasm for the growing season.
By combining environmental education, cultural exchange, and resource sharing, Culture in Bloom demonstrated how gardening can strengthen both communities and ecosystems. The event reflected ZIRAN's mission of "Empowering Communities for a Healthier, More Sustainable Tomorrow" by making sustainable gardening accessible, celebrating cultural diversity, encouraging reuse, and inspiring residents to care for both people and the planet, "one garden at a time".
Celebrating Earth Day, Arbor Day, and Cultural Connections Through Gardening
On April 19, 2026, ZIRAN (Zone for Integrated Resources and Alliances with Nature) hosted Culture in Bloom: Community Garden Gather & Swap at the Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka. Supported by the Hennepin County Fortify Program, the event brought together more than 80 community members to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day through gardening, environmental education, and cultural exchange.
Designed to connect people through a shared love of growing food, the event welcomed gardeners of all experience levels to learn, exchange ideas, and build community. Participants brought vegetable seedlings, culturally significant plants, seeds, gardening tools, pots, and supplies to swap, give away, or sell, helping one another prepare for the growing season while reducing waste through reuse.
Paul, a horticulturist and former Horticulture Supervisor of the Como Conservatory Sunken Garden, shared practical guidance on building healthy soil, improving soil fertility, and growing vegetables using organic gardening practices. His presentation emphasized that healthy soil is the foundation of productive gardens and offered accessible techniques that gardeners could immediately apply in their own backyards.
The afternoon began with a community meet-and-greet, followed by educational presentations from local gardening experts. Grace Li and Jing introduced ZIRAN's new Roots & Resilience Community Garden at West Metro Chinese Church (WMCC), inviting families to participate in a shared community space focused on sustainable food production, environmental education, and cultural connection.
Permaculture farmer Mr. Xu Lei introduced participants to the philosophy and principles of permaculture, describing it as a design approach built on three core ethics: Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. Rather than viewing agriculture as simply food production, he encouraged participants to see gardens as living ecosystems that work with nature instead of against it.
Highlights from his presentation included:
Designing gardens by observing natural systems before making changes.
Creating diverse food forests that mimic the layered structure of natural forests to improve biodiversity and resilience.
Using companion planting, such as tomatoes with basil or the Indigenous "Three Sisters" planting method of corn, beans, and squash, to naturally improve soil fertility, reduce pests, and maximize growing space.
Building healthy soils through thoughtful nutrient management, organic matter, and beneficial microorganisms.
Reducing waste by treating every resource as part of a continuous natural cycle.
The presentations were followed by an engaging discussion where participants exchanged gardening experiences, asked questions, and shared locally adapted growing techniques from a variety of cultural traditions. Conversations continued throughout the afternoon as attendees browsed the plant swap tables, traded seeds and tools, and discovered unfamiliar vegetables, herbs, and flowers from around the world.
Families with young children especially enjoyed the chick-petting corner, where they interacted with baby chicks while learning what they eat and how to hold and care for them. They even got to learn how to sketch a chick with the local student artist, Sharon Niu.
