Do you know your neighbors?

From neighbor, to neighbor-friend, to friend who happens to be a neighbor.

I live on a planet full of people, in the United States of America, in California, in San Francisco, in the Richmond District, on a street, on a block, and in an apartment building. My neighborhood is gridded, heavily cemented, and packed full of apartment buildings, which are full of renters.

The city has been demolishing and repaving the sidewalks in the blocks around my apartment. When they tore up the sidewalk across the street, they created a large patch of unpaved dirt around a tree. My neighbor saw this as an opportunity to plant a garden. Every day, I’d walk past the tree and see little additions she’d made; a few budding flowers, a little fence made of sticks, and a “no peeing” sign with an image of a squatting dog.

I spotted the mystery gardener when I was walking my dog last week. She enthusiastically shared about her gardening experience, the flowers she planted, and how excited she was to finally have a garden at home. I told her I wanted to grow my own garden and she jumpe…