Julianne Klasen-Daoud in the Community Center, leading her workshop and demonstrating how to garden. Photo courtesy of Patrick Kelly
The old adage of April showers bringing May flowers was proven true on a rainy Sunday at the New Paltz Community Center, where garden expert and manager of Rhinebeck gardening center “The Phantom Gardner” Julianne Klasen-Daoud led a class titled “Planting Seeds of Joy.”
The class, which was hosted by the Town of New Paltz’s Office of Community Wellness, drew a crowd of all ages who came to learn about how to plant seeds and participants walked away with free seed packets and plant starters that can be planted in the ground, as well as a smile and a sense of camaraderie.
Phoenix Kawamoto, the community education coordinator for the Office of Community Wellness, said that the department, which is unique in the region, does “everything from creating events like today to support wellness and well being and bring people together, especially at a time where people are feeling stressed and disconnected and isolated.”
Klasen-Daoud gave several gardening tips and tricks, along with demonstrations on how to plant seeds in seed starters, and some techniques to help grow your small seeding into a mighty plant. She also emphasized the fickle nature of plant life, and that a certain amount of trial and error is involved when starting a garden.
“I did start doing this when I was pretty young, so I’ve been doing it over 30 years, and there have been a lot of failures,” she said. “I’ve had veggie gardens that didn’t do so hot, and it could be weather, or I was trying a new soil one year and that was a disaster. But you just got to keep on going.”
Klasen-Daoud said that gardening was the perfect activity for one’s mental health and wellness. She went on to say that science backs her up, with gardening helping to lower cortisol levels, and it makes one more in tune with nature.
“Personally, with my own experience battling some of that stuff, I always feel so much better when I’m outside hands in the earth,” she said. “I also think that it helps people to be successful at things, and when you are growing something and nurturing something, you can’t help but feel nurtured in return.”
The class also drew people of various experience levels, with newcomers and seasoned gardening experts alike joining together to plant various seeds.
“I had one woman who it was her first time ever planting seeds,” Klasen-Daoud said. “And I just love the fact that we can all realize that we can start new things and try new things at any point in life.”
Beyond the plants they grew, participants developed a sense of community with one another. People were chatting and joking with each other. They were sharing gardening tips and seeds, working communally to produce their starters.
Kawamoto said that he was happy to see the turnout, and the community that formed over the hour-long class. “[It was] really wonderful to see so many happy people really appreciating the opportunity to be in community and have fun and be able to plant their seeds of joy,” Kawamoto said.
“I feel like this is the perfect forum for community,” Klasen-Daoud said of the joyful spirit of fellowship in the room. “People’s spirits get lifted just by being around each other and [having their] hands in the dirt, growing something [and] learning a new thing.”
“I’m so happy the community came out and we all got together and planted seeds.”
To find out more about the Office of Community Wellness and their upcoming events, you can visit their website at www.npthrivingtogether.org.
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