The garden was started in 2009 as a community mission of Apex United Methodist Church. From the start, this effort has been inclusive of the ENTIRE community. Membership was not dependent on one’s address, faith, church, gardening ability, or even ability to pay the $15.00 annual family fee because full and partial scholarships were available.
An army of volunteers built the garden with a collective spirit and energy that could have powered a city for a week. Garden members shared the bounty of the garden. Through a communal approach, we worked the soil, fought the weeds, planted, harvested, and shared in the bounty and beauty of the garden. We made friends and shared many celebrations. We lost members of our garden family and wept together. We tested the boundaries of strength and perseverance. For 13 years, we contributed to 5 differnent food banks, brought flowers to shut-ins, care facilities and schools. We had tomato sandwich nights and watermelon seed spittin’ contests.
So what’s next? Help us create the future. We have been fortunate to find a new home, in partnership with the YMCA of the Triangle. Our task ahead is to rebuild an even more beautiful garden at the new location in Apex (3109 Tingen Rd.), which we will accomplish together this year to resume our delivery of fresh, organic produce to those in need in our community.
“One of the most delightful things about a
garden is the anticipation it provides.”
-W.E. Johns
THE BEGINNING
Thanks to the amazing generosity of Mrs. Jeanne Hack, who graciously allows us to borrow her property, we are able to “live” rent free. With additional support of many corporate and individual sponsors (please see sponsor page), irrigation pipes were laid to allow us to bring water up from a pond, electricity was brought on site, and an unused field was plowed.
In an enormous community event that brought hundreds of people to the garden, the place was completely transformed. In a matter of hours, nearly 300 feet of deer fence were up, 10 raised beds were created and some lettuce was even planted! After days of hand watering, irrigation was soon in place, which in turn led to more planting.
In each of the first two years, approximately 500 pounds of organic produce was shared with the Western Wake Crisis Ministry. In year three, the deer fence was moved to allow the size of the garden to double, along with the donation to WWCM.
Our Mission
The mission of Simple Gifts Community Garden is to help us return to the simple and joyful life
which God intended for us. Our garden will accomplish this by:
- Borrowing the gifts of land, time, talent and resources available to our community
- Building an organic garden to produce fresh and high quality fruits and vegetables while also building lasting friendships and cooperation within our community
- Sharing the
knowledge of sustainable organic gardening practices, healthy food preparation
and consumption as well as the bounty of our garden with each other and those in
need within our community.
Our Vision
Simple Gifts Community Garden will feed our hunger as we grow fruits from the ground and feed our souls as we develop fruits of the spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Our garden will be a place of hospitality where all are welcomed and encouraged to share their gifts with others.
Simple Gifts Community Garden 
I am interested in joining. Do you get to keep any of the crops or is all of it donated?
Yes, Katherine. Everyone who joins the garden and works on each workday gets to take home a portion of that day’s harvest. Some days that’s more than others. We also give to three local food banks regularly.