We believe the garden has something for everyone…

The Council Tree Garden exists to initiate a cycle of blessing within Northern Colorado. Throughout the season, our grounds are actively pursuing growth and restoration of nature and humanity not only through what we grow, but through who we are. Our goal is that each person that enters finds a sense of place and belonging here and leaves encouraged and filled by our common connections to food and one another. Our produce finds its way into the heart of the community through visitors to our weekly produce stand, community organizations and the goodness of neighbors. Visit us and find out how you can be a part of cultivating love and blessing to those around you. Email chris@counciltreecovenant.com to volunteer or get more information.

This year’s theme is ‘Cultivating Place’.

More than ever before, I’ve sensed the isolation, social changes, and separation that our culture and community reside in day in and day out and many of us have felt the emotional toll that being in a constant state of adaptation has brought. For all these reasons and more, I think it is important for us to spend this season focused on ‘place’. What I mean by place is not just physical space, though it is. Place is so much more; it intersects with time, people, engages your senses to create memories, feelings and security. A sense of place can be created anywhere at any time, and even if we can’t identify it now, something draws us back. Something tells us that we are welcome, that we belong, something makes us feel secure, gives us hope, and encourages us onward. Our neighborhood and community need place, we need place. Place brings us together.

Fall 2023 Garden Update 

Wow! What a year!

 Every year or so we have ordered paper baskets to hold raspberries, so people can pick their own raspberries and take them home. We order quantities of 500. We started the year with about 100 baskets, Then ordered 500 more, which were used up in August and then ordered a new batch of which 50 have been used. In the three weeks that lapsed between the two orders people were bringing their own containers and using bags. Many people like to just walk through and pick and eat as they take a break from their busy life. So if we do a little math and guess work, we find that more than 800 people visited the raspberry patch this season.

The priceless part for me has been listening to all the voices in the raspberry patch as I have been working the garden. I hear words of discovery, excitement, curiosity, fear of bees (Yellow jackets) and fear of dark places. And so many questions! One individual had never seen a raspberry bush in their life and did not know what to look for or how to pick them.

As the weather has cooled and the garden slows down, we have gone from four distributions (free vegetable stands) down to just our original Tuesday morning stand just outside the garden from 9 to noon every week. Our days of working in the garden have been reduced to Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings, 8 to noon. If you are interested in taking part, there are still many things that need to be done to close out the year. Just contact Chris to find out how you can get involved.

There are so many amazing stories happening in and around the garden and playground this year that are quite astounding, and I hope you are hearing about them from the Council Tree community. If you have not heard about what is going on, stay tuned as we bring them to you throughout the coming fall and spring.

God's blessings,

Chris Solomon