Dreaming in Technicolor

The Start of a Community Garden

Bob Clyburn, fondly known as Ponytail Bob by most, seemed to glow as he told me about his newest project. “I tend to dream in technicolor” Ponytail Bob claimed with a chuckle, but his big dreams are not just talk. He attempts to paint the sky with these dreams, taking every step possible to see the dreams take root in the world around him. His newest project? A garden. But not just any garden, a garden to “help people come together.” This garden will be located behind St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where there is a plot of land that is ready for some love. This is a project that can bring the community together.

College students from The Tennessee College of Applied Technology are helping to make this project a reality by working out logistics. People throughout the community are donating their time and talent to bring life to the garden. Ponytail Bob talks about how the project could be “done in a few months” with hired people and constant work, but happily explains how the garden “is not about that.” Instead, the project will stretch on for the next few years giving many individuals the chance to be involved. Then it will one day stand tall and beautiful and people can drive by it and remember the new people they met while contributing to it, or how they picked a certain flower color, or how they helped to make Memphis just a little more beautiful. 

The garden isn’t just something for people to love; it is something for the environment to love too. Part of the dream is to include a retention pond for run-off water. This not only adds to the aesthetic as the garden is completed by a lovely body of water but also creates a source of reusable energy. The water from the pond will be pumped into a windmill, which then produces the energy to irrigate the garden. Ponytail Bob imagines the garden to be completely supported by reusable resources/energy. 

The community garden is in its first steps, still living in the wonderful minds of people who have already agreed to help, but it will not be long at all before it becomes a reality. Keep checking the Bridge for updates on the garden and ways you can get involved!