Hurricane Helene, Compost, and God's Vine

One of the most rewarding benefits of gardening is discovering that, sometimes, we are not the only gardener in our landscape. Despite our best efforts to control our space, sometimes, forces beyond our control have other plans. Here is a sweet tale of one gardener’s experience after Hurricane Helene. 

                In September of 2024, Hurricane Helene ravaged her way inland all the way to the Georgia/South Carolina border, forever changing our landscape and our lives. My husband Henry and I were among the lucky ones. Several residents of the North Augusta /Augusta area were crushed in their beds.   

Assured that the brunt of the storm was headed toward the other side of Atlanta and would miss us, we slept soundly within our seven acre homestead. We awakened to utter devastation. Miraculously, our house was not harmed; however the four acres immediately surrounding us suffered massive damage.  Our chickens were all killed, our koi pond crushed.  Huge oaks, pines and elms were uprooted.  Our two acre woodland garden, orchard, well, and barn were all destroyed. 

For the next six weeks, all we could do was basic clearing of our grand trees, grateful to be spared our home and our lives. Each day we did whatever we could to focus forward, determined to rebuild our beautiful gardens. We told ourselves the goal was to just accomplish SOMETHING!  Then something rather amazing happened at the rear of our property. 

One day, I noticed some vines growing out of the one remaining compost bin.  The vines grew quickly, then started to bloom. Something must have sprouted from previously discarded vegetable scraps and was now  growing vigorously.  In a short time, the vine covered the space of two Volkswagens.  My plant identification app told me this was butternut squash and sure enough, flowers quickly turned into fruit. By mid-July, harvesting began. 

Please understand that not only did I not plant this, but I never even watered it! I couldn’t. Our well was destroyed. Throughout spring and summer, as we continued our reconstruction, this volunteer squash vine continued to grow all on its own. 

As of Sept 5, 2025, I have now harvested 153 butternut squash! 

About 100 squash ago, Henry and I realized that this was simply not normal.  I think God decided that these two gardeners needed something to smile about and hope for. I believe that this is a divine act of mercy from God who decided we had had enough grief and gifted us some joy. The harvest still continues, new blooms appear every day, and we continue to share our bounty with our community. Dozens have been distributed through our local food pantry, our favorite pizza restaurant, our pharmacist, and our priest. We continue to share these gifts gladly and are forever grateful for this opportunity to tend what we have named God’s vine.