In Miami, Annika Bolanos isn’t a fan of the
south Florida heat and mosquitoes. But going
outdoors lately has been a lifeline.
Bolanos works at home making cakes and
doing bookkeeping with her husband’s golf
cart business. Her three young children add
an extra layer of busy, and together they’ve
seeded a variety of vegetables and herbs.
“We have always loved the idea of growing
our own food,” Bolanos said. “It feels good to
eat something that you grew yourself too.
It also helps my kids eat more fruits and
veggies since they find it cool to eat what
they have grown.”
Her children water the plants daily and
concentrate on what’s growing.
“You’re feeling the sun and the breeze and
don’t have to worry about anything in the
moment,” Bolanos said.
In Britain and Germany, there’s a premium on
allotments — popular parcels of land rented
for growing food crops.
“Those with a garden are the lucky ones,” said
Heidi Schaletzky, standing on the lawn beneath
a cherry tree in the north of Berlin.
Schaletzky and her husband have been
cultivating a plot in the ``Free Country”
community garden for the past eight years,
growing strawberries, salad greens and
kohlrabi. So far, access to garden plots remains
exempt from restrictions intended to stop the
spread of the virus in Germany.
“We’ll be able to see other people, too,” she said.
“As long as they stay on their side of the fence.”