Compost Boy, Garden Girl - a tale as old as dirt

The scene: University of Arizona Community Garden (UACG), summer 2020. The characters: Garden Manager Chloe, Compost Specialist Daniel. The plot: Chloe sees some fella rifling through the mobile mini storage unit, introduces herself and shakes his hand to assert dominance over her domain (he thinks she's cute, she wonders why he’s messing with her tools). The masks stay on (we’re in the throes of COVID). As the fall semester starts, they become coworkers at the UA Office of Sustainability, attending many a Zoom meeting and discreetly eyeing each others’ profiles. The Compost Cats launch the Bucket Program, in which community members collect their food scraps in a bucket and dump its contents twice a week at the UACG. Daniel is the primary bucket-dumper and compost-turner (grody), and Chloe (realizing that he’s cute) takes to hanging around and pulling weeds while the compost collection is happening. She walks the mile to the garden with her bucket at 7am each Saturday, hoping to see “cute compost boy,” but sadly, he is rarely there (she doesn’t yet know of Daniel’s propensity to be 20-30 minutes late everywhere he goes). When their paths do cross at the garden, Chloe goes out of her way to ask him questions (“Is sourdough starter compostable?”) and Daniel points out all the cool birds he sees (“There’s a vermillion flycatcher in the pollinator garden”). One evening in December (after Chloe wises up and figures out Daniel is more likely to be at the later compost shifts), Daniel subtly scores Chloe an invitation to a Compost Cat party, where they spend the whole evening talking. Then they spend the next day talking, and the day after that, and every day for the next 5 years and counting.

The couple still enjoys digging in the dirt together, as well as listening to the same audiobooks, finding and restoring furniture from the side of the road, walking Chloe’s dog (we love you Ginny), birdwatching, cooking and baking (or taste-testing, in Daniel’s case), rock climbing, kayaking, and hosting elaborate themed dinner parties.

Daniel proposed in Central Park on their 4th anniversary (Chloe had an “at least four years of dating” rule and he didn’t waste any time), with logistical aid from friends Sadie and Stella. They celebrated with a delicious meal of vegan Chinese food and a Broadway show. They kept the engagement a secret for a couple weeks until Chloe’s annual Piegiving (it’s a pie party, obviously), when they announced it to their friends (and the 16 pies in attendance). And here we are, planning another party (probably with fewer pies this time) to celebrate with all our loved ones (that’s you)!

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You can read another little story about us here