Our Garden Caretakers
Pat and Becky Hudak have been sprucing up the garden in the Village since Iona House acquired the property in April. We are beyond grateful for their care and efforts. As you can read below, Pat and Becky have done so much and have big plans for the garden!
Q: What drew you to volunteer in the garden?
Becky: It’s a garden! I couldn’t stay away! I love gardens. I never refuse a garden tour. When we go on vacation, my family knows if there is a garden, I want to see it. When our daughter was in elementary and middle school, I loved volunteering in the school garden and seeing the wonder and joy it brought to students as well as their families. I knew that the Village Garden at Iona House was just waiting to bless many people and I wanted to help that happen.
Pat: 1) getting caught in the excitement of Iona house and volunteering with others there. 2) seeing the potential of beautifying this special place. 3) I think I am semi-handy, but I do have experience with irrigation and making garden beds that could be readily applied in the garden. 4) Becky made me! ;-) Okay…not really but it was an opportunity for us to do something that we care about and enjoy doing as a family
Q: What is your experience with gardening?
Becky: Pat and I have been growing veggies on and off for 30 years. Our first backyard veggie garden was an enormous success and we didn’t realize until later that it was all due to the fertile soil of the valley we lived in. We just thought we were great gardeners, but we have since learned that veggie gardening can pose many challenges! Also, in the 22 years we have lived and gardened in El Dorado County, we have been learning about protecting and restoring native habitat. I have become very passionate about gardening in harmony with our ecosystem.
Pat: Making garden beds for our home garden and installing and fixing drip irrigation; planting trees
Q: What has been the most rewarding part of working in the garden?
Becky: I really enjoy observing the rhythm of seasonal changes in the garden. I appreciate the care that was taken by the former owners in selecting perennials for blossoms in every season. It’s been very rewarding this summer and fall to watch the garden produce a bountiful harvest to be shared, and to invite guests to explore and enjoy the garden. Also, I am so thankful to be able to work with Pat and our daughter, Jana, as well as all the special people on the garden team.
Pat: Fellowshipping and working with other volunteers; seeing children get excited about growing things and harvesting the bounty; hearing from others that the garden is looking better; it is a nice respite to do physical labor and get my hands dirty, especially when I was teaching; learning about new plants that I haven’t seen before
Q: How have you experienced God in the garden?
Becky: Nature and gardens always point my thoughts to God. I just have to walk into the garden to feel God’s presence, but when I have a huge to-do list on my mind, I have to remind myself to talk to Him as I work. Having time to fellowship with other volunteers as we work in the garden reminds me that God is with us. And the chance to witness growth, listen to singing birds or observe busy bees always feels like a gift from God.
Pat: through the fellowship of others and through the beauty of the garden—the trees, the fruits, the flowers, the bees, the birds…
Q: What are your goals for the garden?
Becky: We have too many goals! Some big ones are 1) taking good care of the soil by composting to restore nutrients and living organisms, 2) planting and harvesting as much food as the garden will give, 3) welcoming more volunteers to the garden team, 4) being a place where people of all ages and abilities can participate in creation care.
Pat: Oh so many…. Almost endless…re-doing the irrigation and extending it; pruning the grapes and fruit trees (winter activity); continuous clean-up of overgrown vines and dead branches; poison oak removal; fixing broken beds. Longer term: Adding more garden beds and extending irrigation to back area for possible-- summer crops and fruit trees; making the garden more educational—labeling plants and trees, making the pathways nice—DG? Stones? Both?