During my recent visit to St. Louis, I visited one of my favorite places, Concordia Lutheran Seminary, which trains young Lutheran ministers of the Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod (the conservative branch) for their life’s work. To my surprise, I spotted four woman arrive in front of the campus church with bags. They began filling those bags with the green leaves. Turns out the church’s flower beds actually were kale beds. The four told me there were other gardens on campus with vegetables and spices. I did a quick Google search and learned the gardens were the brainchild of the Seminary Guild, made up of mostly women who are doing some good deeds. Wow, what a great idea. I would love to see this happen elsewhere, but I think the gardens would be picked clean. Concordia is relatively secluded, so it can sustain a huge batch of basil without pesto makers swooping in.
(Click on each photograph to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)