Living the Dream: A Tale of ‘Growing with Grace’ and Purple Magnificence

How does your garden grow? Gracefully, some might say.

Grace. It’s a thing we feel we must have, say and do to make life go more smoothly. Say grace. Give grace. Have grace. Age with grace. Do it with grace. Why not grow with grace? Better yet, grow with Grace — with a capital G, that is.

There is such a thing as being full of grace in our lives. We can also be full of Grace. Yes, there is such a person — with whom one can grow things quite prolifically. Grace Cangemi Ryan, a longtime area girl who graduated from Rumson Country Day School (RCDS) in 1980, spent a lot of theatrical time at The Barn Theatre back in the day, had a career in the entertainment/music industry, and even served on Red Bank Borough Council for a stint.

Then she got very passionate about growing her own food and ultimately became certifiably masterful in gardening. You could also say she’s certifiably nuts about it. Now, she wants to spread the green thumb love, teach others to grow and love what they eat, and, yes, in their back yard. As a local governing body member, a lot is heard from residents referred to as NIMBYs — Not in My Back Yard. And Ryan has heard it all. But this kind of organic growing is something even a NIMBY would want in their back yard. And Ryan can offer it.

From garden design to growth to maintenance and harvest, Grace is what you can have in your nursery, farm or just plain back yard. She has even taken to garden babysitting for vacationing folks. Yes, that’s a thing. And quite a beneficial thing, at that. Add to that, Rumson-Fair Haven area people, that she does it all clad in purple overalls. OK, that was an accidental area shout-out perk. But it just so happens that Ryan’s favorite, very worn, gardening overalls manifested into the creation of her own sowing, hoeing, weeding, superhero dubbed Purple Magnificence.

But how did it all start at RCDS and end in the garden? Well, a little bit of purple-peppered passion goes a long way, it turns out. Call it a magic beanstalk to the gardening heavens rooted in Grace.

Grace Cangemi Ryan, of Growing with Grace, gardening
Photo/Andrea Phox of Andrea Phox Photography

“Gardening has always been something that I love. Now I truly love sharing information and my passion about what you can do in your own back yard to make your family healthier and happier. How we can live a better life through what we grow in our own back yards.

“How did I end up as a master gardener? I took that love of gardening and cultivated it. I just became more and more passionate about growing my own food. Several years ago, I moved into new home and had one small raised garden bed. Now, I have five raised beds and an herb garden and the passion just kept growing from there.

“I decided to learn more and became an official master gardener through the Rutgers University Master Gardener Program via the Monmouth County Board of Agriculture. It was a heck of an education and an unbelievable learning experience.”
Grace Cangemi Ryan, Grow with Grace

And she took the experience and education from there and harvested and shared it. As part of the intensive educational aspect of the program, Ryan worked in gardens under people “who really know what they’re doing.” The program, she added, is geared toward making those master gardeners able to assist people on the Monmouth County Agriculture Help Line.

“Most people don’t realize that every county in New Jersey has an agricultural help line,” she said. “Rutgers trains us gardeners to man the phone lines. Rutgers offered a really broad education through the program not just in gardening, but a lot of things I didn’t even know about. We can even assist with issues like bed bugs, for instance. If you have an issue, a master gardener is well-equipped to help you solve your problem (over the phone).”

When it comes to that literal personal touch, though, that’s where Ryan comes in. With some work in another arena ending, she decided to really root her gardening passion and do her part in seeding that passion with the purpose of making the earth a healthier, happier place for all Earthly beings. So, she created Grow with Grace. If you want to do your part in growing things well for the good of the earth and your own life, she will come to you to help you live your best, longest, most organic life.

“One of places where I see best quality of life lived and longevity fostered is in the garden,” Ryan said. “You’re in the dirt. You’re boosting your immune system. You’re getting minerals. You’re getting that early morning sunlight on your eyeballs. You’re using muscles you didn’t even realize you had. You are doing something to keep you alive. You’re growing.”

Growing is not something Ryan does alone in the garden, either. She is continually growing her passion by learning from her mentor and colleague.

“I work a great deal for Chris Mumford, a retired noted area restaurateur,” she said. “I call him the OG — the Original Gardener. He’s the guy. His restaurants have gardens. We sell organic plants and fertilizers and we work gardens. Some I work with him, some I work alone.”

The alone part is the one that offers Ryan up for some gardening creations, cultivating and, especially this time of the year, babysitting — or maintenance while you’re away.

“I have seen it happen over and over again,” she said. “People get enthusiastic about having a garden. They buy all sorts of veggies, herbs and fruit. They plant it, water it a few times, weed once or twice and then let it go or go on vacation and everything dies. Enter Purple Magnificence to the rescue!”

Ryan’s purple-overalled self will save the gardening day. No cape, flying or telescopic garden vision is involved with this gardening superhero, though, so you’re going to have to use the phone to give her a call and set up the rescue, babysitting or whatever needs you may have, seed to veggie, herb and fruit, how, when, why or what, sunrise to sunset. The sunrise part she especially enjoys, too, so no worries about the early on-call feature of Grow with Grace.

“I was in the music business for decades,” she reminisced. “My night went to 2 a.m. for a very long time. Now, I’m getting up when I used to go to bed. I have become, through lack of choice, a morning person. I love what I do out in the garden, talking to my plants like a crazy woman. You have to get that early morning sunlight on your eyeballs. It changes your relationship with the world. This is where the art comes in versus the craft. You have to look at the whole system. A lot of people are doing a little something.”

That little something can be sans Grace, too. If anything, she said, “throw down some milk weed. The most encouraging thing I see is that more and more people are getting into growing their own stuff. You can grow in the ground, grow in pots, grow bags … Even if it’s one tomato on your deck, that’s fine. If you have kids, do radishes, you can go from seed to radish in 30 days. It’s a dream crop for kids. Grow something that will help a bee, a butterfly. Be a part of the ecosystem.” Attracting pollinators does an awful a lot of good for the earth and its creatures. It also creates a space of serenity.

Then there’s composting. Failed plants, she added, will be successful compost.

“The more you garden the more you realize how expensive soil can get. Make more soil instead of paying for it. Weeds and kitchen scraps become very valuable when trying to use organic soil.”

And, speaking of organic soil, she said, right now, with all the talk about the produce parasite cyclospora cayetanensis making the unwelcome rounds, it is even more integral to grow your own in your own space with your own touch — or a little bit of Grace’s. “I had a client who wanted to pull up everything in her garden because of this,” Ryan said. “Noooo, I told her. Something like this is one of the greatest reasons to grow your own.”

And, it’s not all about you and yours when it comes to gardening, Ryan emphasized. It can become a neighborhood co-op effort, fostering a sense of community, socializing, sharing and caring for the earth and one another. “For instance, in my neighborhood alone, I leave veggies for people and I make a chive flower vinegar and basil salt that I share. A friend shares persimmons, another I trade veggies for fish. It works very nicely. It’s homegrown social connection.” Connection is really what it’s all about, from the seeds to the bees, butterflies and sunrise-drenched eyes and soft rain-sprinkled sprouts and back, Ryan said.

There have been some crazy ups and downs for gardeners to contend with this year. “Hopefully, we’re past all the crazy ups and downs, weather-wise. All gardeners pray for a nice soft rain in the evening or early morning. The deluge we just dealt with was abysmal. We spend a lot of time shaking our fists at the sky.” Ryan is happy take on the sky fisticuffs for others.

She says she’ll do it for you with grace, of course.

Grace Cangemi Ryan is local and available for any and all of the gardening needs mentioned. For assessment and estimates, give her a call at 732-778-3973 …
R-FH Retro will be publishing a weekly column featuring some gardening and cooking tidbits with Grace.