Enjoying the Fruits of Their Labor

Rockville Centre resident Maggie Gray, owner of New Leaf in Rockville Centre, has taken the art of cultivation to a new level.

Gray, who holds a variety of horticulture certifications, has spent the last four months rolling her sleeves up every Thursday evening to work with area children in maintaining The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Vegetable Garden at the MLK Community Center.

Gray spearheaded the youth garden project with New Leaf employee Carolyn Melillo of Rockville Centre, and Melillo's sister, Maura McFeely of Mineola.

Since its debut last April, the garden has attracted more than 30 boys and girls between the ages of two and 15, who meet every Thursday at 6 p.m. to maintain the 14 x 14 square-foot vegetable garden they helped build. Home to sunflowers and such produce as strawberries, pumpkins, corns, tomatoes, egg plant, basil and hot peppers, Gray said the garden has rekindled a love for nature's candy, with the youngsters reaping the "fruits of their labor" by enjoying all of its home-grown fruits and vegetables.

"This garden has been a win-win for everyone involved," she explained. "It has not only allowed me the opportunity to pass my love for gardening and planting onto these youngsters, but has given the children the chance to experience nature and all that it has to offer in a fun and interactive forum while also giving opening up their eyes to healthier snack alternatives."

Melillo agreed.  "This garden project helped foster a work ethic, sense of pride, feeling of comradery and mutual respect that these youngsters will hopefully adopt as lifelong values," she said.

Gray and Melillo aren't the only ones who feel the program was a success. Chantal Mollette, 12, of Lindenhurst, participated in the garden project throughout the summer while visiting her grandmother in Rockville Centre. "This garden was a lot of fun," she said. "I 'm happy that I got to help out the community and learned about planting fruits and vegetables."

After a fruitful run, Gray plans to put the garden to bed for the winter before it blooms again next spring. Gray said she hopes to meet with village trustees to explore broadening the garden area, along with its fruit and vegetable selections.

"Expanding this garden would not only give more children the opportunity to get involved, it would also allow people of all ages to participate," she said.