This column first appeared in CityView Magazine’s “Home and Garden” Issue May 2026 edition.

My father had a green thumb. More than that, he had a green spirit. He loved his plants; they loved him. He knew every one by their Latin and English names, nestled them into the right spaces, prepared their perfect foods, and tended them with gentle care. Our house and yard were filled with thriving specimens of greens and flowers. 

Unfortunately, Dad’s green genes weren’t passed along to me. I inherited my mom’s plant savvy—she could kill a plastic ivy. Last year, I even botched the tomato crop, the one agricultural thing I usually do well.  

You can and should be raising a garden, even if you share my mortician’s talent for greenery. Because we all can grow a lot more than veggies and flowers. We can grow community. That’s even more rewarding than a perfect tomato in July. 

I see that as the best gardening I’ve ever done, the best crops I’ve raised: I got to bring people together for conversations about the Fayetteville area, and its problems, goals, and challenges.  

For most of the 20 years I served as The Fayetteville Observer’s editorial page editor, we had a Community Advisory Board, a group of local folks who had lots of thoughts and ideas about their town and were happy to share them. I chose the members carefully and had a group of a dozen or so people who brought vastly differing perspectives to the conversation. I deliberately planted this garden of ideas among people who wouldn’t—couldn’t—ever agree on things. The group included liberals, conservatives, and middle-of-the-roaders. They only had to accept one central concept: to listen carefully and disagree respectfully.  

We saw a few disputes turn angry over the years, but it was rare. Mostly, the members had wide-ranging discussions that sometimes even changed their minds. They shared many of their conclusions and suggestions in columns we published in the paper and posted online. Most got good feedback. Sometimes, they even got policy changes by the city or county.  

It saddened me when the Observer’s current corporate owners decided to quit publishing editorials, or even having much in the way of opinion pages. Every community needs a forum where residents can debate issues and seek solutions. But, of course, the newspaper isn’t the only place where that can happen. 

When I lived in the city, I used to joke that Harris Teeter on Raeford Road was my conference room. Almost every time I went in to pick up what I needed for lunch or dinner, I ran into people who wanted to talk about things related to their city and how well, or poorly, it was doing. Those were great conversations that often found their way into one of my columns or an Observer editorial. It’s one way ideas can become action in a community. 

But you don’t need me to do that. You can do it yourself. You can convene your own focus groups. You can take what you know to city and county officials and ask for action. You can be part of the oversight that every place needs from its citizenry. All you’ve got to do is ask questions and listen carefully to the answers. 

This is a particularly good year to do that. It’s an election year, and we’ll have lots of political choices to make. That’s important, and it needs more rational thought and analysis than it typically gets. But there’s an even bigger reason for those discussions, and it’s local: Our leaders—especially the county commissioners—are doing important things, making big plans and pressing to make Greater Fayetteville … a lot greater. A big cheer here especially for Kirk deViere, chair of the county commissioners, for pushing a plan that will extend municipal water throughout the county, starting with the areas where the groundwater is poisoned with “forever chemicals” emitted by the Chemours plant on the Cumberland-Bladen county line. The board also wants to build a new children’s museum and an aquatic center, create economic-development corridors around the airport and Crown Complex, and make this town a national model for military-related community development.  

At the same time, the city and the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce are also embracing ambitious development plans. A toast to all of them.

But also, fair warning: Back in my editor days, I had a shelf behind my desk, stacked high with city and county development plans that never came together. Sometimes, my desk was the place where good ideas went to die. 

But if everyone decides to adopt a kind of municipal gardening, getting involved, going to meetings, asking questions (especially tough ones), and really listening to the answers, maybe this is just the right time for the community to leap forward.  

Like my dad’s gardens, if it gets the right kind of attention and care, it just might thrive.