Saxon Brown, director of Opportunity Gardens, shows her home garden Aug. 9, 2021 in Columbia, Missouri. Opportunity Gardens, a Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture program, provides gardening support to local households at or below the poverty line. The program provides supplies and mentorship needed for residents to grow abundant home gardens.
Brown surveys her garden Aug. 9, 2021 in Columbia, Missouri. Brown’s passion for teaching others how to grow food comes from her own gardening practice.
Coneflowers grow in Brown’s garden Aug. 9, 2021 in Columbia, Missouri.
Ms. Bea poses for a portrait in her home garden August 9, 2021. Her garden is one of nearly 100 in the Opportunity Gardens program.
Nona, Ms. Bea’s sister, points out a sprout growing in their vegetable and herb garden June 21, 2021. Brown helps families start gardens in the spring and carry them through the seasons.
Brown, left, discusses fertilizer and soil supplements with LaKeysha in her garden July 7, 2021. LaKeysha gardens with her kids and grows vegetables, herbs and — her favorite — sunflowers.
Queen Anne’s Lace grows in Mary Kate’s garden June 15, 2021. Mary Kate grows prairie flowers and native plants in lieu of a grass lawn.
Mary Kate, left, and Brown work in Mary Kate’s garden June 15, 2021. A lifelong gardener, Mary Kate drew on Brown’s assistance to level up her garden and expand it through her whole yard. She expects a bumper crop of potatoes in the fall.