Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - February 26, 2026

Fresh Today… Kale, Rainbow Carrots, Celery, Salad Mix, Head Lettuce, Green Onions, Rosemary, Cilantro, Dill, Parsley, Edible Flowers, Grapefruit, Lemons & Oranges

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

This week we have carrots, parsley, and dill that are botanical cousins in the Apiaceae family. While the carrots provide an earthy sweetness, the herbs have aromas of grassiness and anise that lift the dish's flavor. Adding lemon provides acidic contrast, cutting through the carrot’s natural sugars to brighten the overall dish. Together, this combination balances sweet, earthy, and citrus elements. I used the herbs both blended in the dressing and as a garnish in the finished salad.

Herb Carrot Salad

1-pound carrots, about 5-6, peeled

2-3 green onions, sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons fresh dill

Dressing:

2 tablespoons oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey or sugar

zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

¼ cup parsley leaves

2 tablespoons fresh dill

* Shred or spiralize the carrots and add to a large bowl. Add the green onion to the carrots, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and toss together. In a blender or with an immersion blender, make the dressing by mixing the oil, garlic, capers, mustard, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, parsley and dill until emulsified. Toss the dressing with the carrots and garnish the salad with the additional parsley and dill.

FCCA Retreat and Respite

WCG hosted a rest-oriented day retreat for the staff of Family Connections Christian Adoptions on Monday. Our time together was designed around the mission of the garden and our Wellspring Thrive mental health curriculum that we created for students in local schools. Our guests harvested their own salad fixings from the fields, enjoyed fresh sourdough bread baked by Cindi and Kat Cragin, and then toured the fields we are cultivating. We discussed one of our Metaphors of Soil and Soul related to the composting of waste vegetation for creating fertile soil to grow vegetables and compared it to the need for processing loss and working through grief to restore mental health. We had a healthy lunch and delightful time together, lovely weather, and a fruitful opportunity to support and serve those who care for precious children who need a loving family.

Edible Flowers…

Our edible flowers make a beautiful addition to a salad. Or try freezing them in ice cube trays to transform any drink. You can also, add them to oil or vinegar to infuse their flavor. The blue borage flowers have a taste similar to cucumbers.

Lemon-Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad with Edible Flowers

1 Tbsp lemon juice                              

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar                                                                          

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper    

1 garlic clove minced                               

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil             

4-5 cups leafy greens, washed

and chopped

½ tsp salt  

2 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese

2 Tbsp pine nuts or chopped

walnuts, toasted and chopped

1 Tbsp flower petals

* In a large bowl combine the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and minced garlic. Drizzle in the oil while whisking. Add the greens and toss the leaves to coat with the dressing. Transfer to a serving platter and top with the cheese, nuts, your favorite fresh fruit and flowers.

Edible Flowers: Borage

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Quince, “No Nonsense!”

Ronda May Melendez & Keith F Martin

I searched the web for an answer: “Why does the quince have thorns?” I got tickled when I came across David Beaulieu’s description of quince’s nature: “The flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) is a thorny, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a somewhat messy growth habit but beautiful red, orange, white, or pink flowers to go with shiny, dark green foliage.” There you have quince - “Beautiful,” “somewhat messy growth habit,'' “thorny” – Sounds all too human to me. 

I had been reflecting on the thorns arrayed along branches bearing beautiful blossoms. It seemed a contradiction. Amid bleak and barren winter days, alluring beauty blossoms and yet brandishes severe and painful weapons. Why? Those thorns protect its nascent fruit. Though I had been taught to look upon thorns as sin’s curse, it occurred to me that we might also consider them, in a fallen world, a two-edged sword – a formidable weapon for defense and a sharp reminder to curb hostile intentions. Quince is a self-pollinating shrub, but it thrives and bears even more fruit when beneficial pollinators – bees, lady bugs, butterflies – are drawn to its enticing beauty and nourishing pollen, despite its “somewhat messy growth habit.” Its alluring blossoms also attract harmful predators that would wantonly consume its budding fruit and imperil its growth and progeny. Thorns protect the quince’s delicate fruit from damage and signal a stern warning: “Predators and pests beware! Proceed at your own peril; you will not do damage and depart with impunity.”

Let us learn a lesson from the quince. We can consider the boundaries we set as “thorns” that signal others to engage with care and respect. Sharp, clearly defined boundaries provide double-edged safety for both others and you. There is no better way to say, “There is beauty here to enjoy but not abuse. That beauty is worth protecting, despite my somewhat messy growth habit.”

“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”   John 2:23-25