Friends of OASIS garden plots feed the souls of those who tend them

It’s hard not to notice the summer crops of produce that occupy over 5,000 square feet of outdoor space at the OASIS Senior Center on Marguerite Avenue in Corona del Mar.

“I have bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, romaine, red potatoes and zucchini growing in nine spaces that I created in here,” said Scott Paulsen, president of the Friends of OASIS Garden Club, who shares his bounty with city staff and OASIS members. “I eat produce every day and still grow enough produce to give away.”

Paulsen, a Newport Beach resident, is especially proud of his plump red tomatoes.

“I’ve picked about 20 so far, and we eat them every night and they taste so good and fresh,” he said. “And zucchini sneak up on you, one day they’re 8 inches long, and the next thing you know they’re over a foot. I make great zucchini pineapple bread usually with two big zucchini squash, which makes about 12 loaves.”

Paulsen brings the homemade bread into OASIS, where he gives it away.

The Garden Club, which began 14 years ago, currently has 57 plots that are mostly 11-by-11 feet, with a handful about half that size set aside for gardeners who are just starting out. There is a wait list of 50 people that carries a fee of $5 to maintain interest in the garden. To have a garden costs $30, and requires a $40 security deposit. The club meets monthly except during the summer and features gardening lectures that are free and open to the public.

Newport Beach resident Linda Simos said she has tendered her OASIS garden for five years, the same length of time she had been on the wait list.

“I live in a condo and I didn’t have a yard at my house,” explained Simos, who grows kale, tomatoes, herbs and roses. “Also, I’ve gotten to know a whole new group of people that I wouldn’t have met without the [existence of the] garden.”

A variety of produce and flowers, including marigolds to help keep bugs away, fill this garden plot at OASIS Senior Center.

(Susan Hoffman)

The are some common sense rules that govern the organic space.

“Don’t pick from somebody else’s garden, ever, and you can’t block sun from another garden or plant anything that might interrupt other gardens, like nasturtium,” Paulsen said. “Gardeners are required to keep [their gardens] up, weed-free and looking good and use the majority of the their plot. We don’t want it wasted; too many people want it.”

He said the garden club board will tell members who aren’t taking good care of their plots to either fix them or lose them. “We give them 30 days’ notice,” he said. “We’re not harsh, but we do have standards.”

According to Melissa Gleason, OASIS director, on the morning of June 26, one of the garden owners found a 4-foot-long rattlesnake, and animal control was called in.

“Everyone was pretty calm, especially the animal control officer, who said [to the rattler], ‘Hi Buddy, you’re amazing.’ We’ve had garden snakes periodically, but this is the first time I’m aware of a rattlesnake,” Gleason said. “There’s no way of keeping everything out of reach — we do the best we can being close by Buck Gully.”

The snake was given to Newport Beach Animal Shelter, Gleason said.

Paulsen has also contended with wildlife visitors to his plot, although he didn’t mention any reptiles.

“Varmints come in from the hillside — and rabbits, they love my green beans,” he said.

“It’s a wonderful hobby — one more place to stay active, and most people stay and don’t want to give up their garden,” he added. “It’s a wonderful place and we love it.”