Homemade Flower Power
After nearly nine months since its start, the Hampton House Garden has bloomed into a scene far beyond Our Town Reno’s last look at it. An introduction from April showed bare soil, empty plots, and the very beginning of seedlings being planted. Now, half a year later, Lily Baran’s backyard is a meeting place for the neighborhood to join in on the garden.
“It's so cool cause it's like a form of rest and a form of protest, that serves the community and myself in like a healthier way, you know.” Baran says. “You can’t always be fighting so ... it helps me like regulate what’s happening in my life cause a lot of the times with Stop the Sweeps or with like, I mean any protesting stuff, you get very like lost in what you’re doing … it's just been a very nice way to like to ground myself.”
Coming home to her garden is part of what calms her down after hectic days. On the day of this interview, Baran had teamed up with her neighbors to help retrieve her neighbor’s car, which had been stolen. Despite her responsibilities and duties, and new job with the ACLUNV as a program associate, she still shows up for the people who need her help.
“It's a reflection of like how my well-being is also. Like if the garden’s looking good, I'm probably feeling good. If it's not, I’m probably not doing good. Like if you came here and the garden was dead, maybe I would probably be dead also.”
Bees, gifted to the Garden by Lily’s friend Jamie, help pollinate the plants. Photo by Rachel Jackson
Birds & Bees, Literally
Hampton House has become home to more than just plants since April. A hive of bees and two ducks later, the garden is literally buzzing. The ducks, gifted by friends who were moving, live towards the back of the garden, where the female lays an egg nearly every day.
The ducks live behind a gate that separates them from Champagne, Baran’s dog.
Baran invited the neighborhood children over to eat the first ripe watermelon of the season, one that the kids planted themselves. Photo by Rachel Jackson
Last Bites of Summer
Baran has invited her neighborhood into her own backyard through a partnership with the organization Black Wall Street. Of the three children who came over to try the fresh watermelon, they rated it as follows: 10/10, 10/10, and 44/10. Other parts of the watermelon went next door and across the street. She sent the kids (and myself) home with a bag full of fresh vegetables.
Other than her own neighbors, Baran donates much of the food she produces to local food pantries, like the Biggest Little Free Pantry, near E 6th Street and Valley Road. Previously, Baran has used zucchini from the garden to bake 60 zucchini muffins to put in the pantry.
The Biggest Little Free Pantry says, “FREE FOOD! TAKE WHAT YOU NEED, LEAVE WHAT YOU CAN!” Photo by Rachel Jackson
From Garden to Table
Though she has plans for the future, including getting more people involved with Hampton House and their own gardens, Baran has taken a liking to the fruits of her own labor.
“It’s all positive, like nothing negative comes out of this, you know? What I mean and what the greatest part is that we are able to do things, like, that are separated from capitalism, which is so hard to do, right.” Baran said. “Like this morning, we were able to eat an omelet and like squash and tomatoes and all this stuff and this great breakfast and like never, a transaction never took place ... We don’t have to rely on the systems that were built for us, because they don’t work. And so it’s nice to have even the smallest bit of, um, rest bit from capitalism. Even if it’s just a duck egg and a tomato.”
Baran’s porch displays signs supporting campaigns for “Bee Friendly Reno” by Reno Food Systems and “Execute Justice, Not People!” by Death Penalty Action. Photo by Rachel Jackson
For the Future
Despite the time and effort put into the garden, Baran still hasn’t stopped the fight outside of her backyard. Over the summer, she spoke at the Stop the Sweeps protest, and gave her thoughts for the Our Town Reno podcast. The garden itself is partnered with Black Wall Street as well. Updates can be found on Facebook or Instagram through @findartinlife or @hamptonhouseharden. Volunteer days for the garden are on Wednesdays and Fridays.