Seeds of Friendship: A Story of a Shared Love for Gardening

When Meals on Wheels volunteer, Cassidy, visited Patricia, he noticed a yellow flower growing. Curious, Cassidy asked what it was and Patricia responded Okra, with a smile and soon a blossoming friendship began. The pair bonded each visit through a shared love of gardening, puzzles and her puppy Tiny, with Cassidy later gifting Patricia both a six-month supply of dog food and gardening tools. Through his time at Meals on Wheels, Cassidy feels fulfilled and like he has learned a lot from Patricia.

A Blooming Friendship

About seven weeks after sowing an okra seed, the plant yields a buttery-yellow flower with a deep crimson center. Meals on Wheels volunteer Cassidy Bonner learned this not on a farm but on an apartment patio in Birmingham, Alabama.

It all happened three years ago. Intent on giving back, Cassidy signed up to deliver meals to seniors living in a Birmingham community called Kingston. “For the first few weeks, things were quiet on my route,” Cassidy recalls. With COVID-19 at its peak, many seniors were hesitant to make small talk with a stranger.

Whenever Cassidy arrived with her meal, Patricia would offer a quiet thank you and then close the door. She rarely, if ever, smiled. But that all changed when Cassidy noticed a flower growing in a five-gallon bucket on her front patio.

“What kind of flower is this?” Cassidy asked, pointing to the bucket. “It’s okra,” Patricia responded, her lips upturned in a soft smile. Unknowingly, Cassidy had just sown the seeds of a long-lasting friendship.

Having Fun Together

The next time he delivered a meal to Patricia, she opened the door with a grin, eager to show him all the vegetables growing in her garden. Apparently, no one in her apartment complex had expressed interest in her plants, and she was eager to share. “I mentioned that I thought her garden was amazing,” said Cassidy. “To my surprise, she offered me several five-gallon buckets to start my own garden.”

In the months since, Cassidy and Patricia have bonded over gardening as well as their shared love of puzzles. Patricia’s pup, Tiny, also unites them. “During visits, I’m greeted with a hug from Tiny. In return, he gets a puppy massage,” said Cassidy, who recently surprised Patricia with a six-month supply of dog food. He has also bought Patricia proper gardening tools and plant stakes. “Up to that point, she was using whatever she could find to work in the garden with,” he said.

But for Cassidy, this story is less about what he’s done for Patricia and more about how she has helped him. Before meeting her, Cassidy had very little experience interacting with seniors. But Patricia taught him how to nurture meaningful relationships with the clients along his route. “Because of Mrs. Patricia, I’m a better volunteer,” said Cassidy. “Based on her smiles and laughs, I like to think that I have had an equal impact on her life.”