VALLEY'S GARDEN SPOT URBAN GROWERS CULTIVATE SENSE OF PEACE.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

ENCINO - Larry Craig picks a bright red flower from his plot at the Sepulveda Community Garden Center, snaps a leaf in half, raises it to his nose and inhales deeply.

``It smells just like pineapples,'' said the 53-year-old Studio City resident. ``If you put a little bit with the turkey, it gives it a nice pineapple flavor.''

As Craig plans his Thanksgiving Day feast, pineapple sage, fresh lima beans and sugar snap peas from his garden are among the key ingredients.

For gardeners like Craig with plots at the public garden, gathering the fruits of their labor in preparation for the holiday has reconnected them with the traditional meaning of Thanksgiving - the celebration of the fall harvest.

``This is a time to come out and gather what you worked so hard to grow,'' said 80-year-old Stanford Reed of Burbank, who has been growing squash for 20 years at the community garden. ``These squash are going to be my Thanksgiving side dish, and I'm going to give the rest to the people in my apartment.''

Situated on Magnolia Boulevard next to the Ventura Freeway, the 16-acre garden center is an oasis filled with exotic trees, rose and cactus gardens, and hundreds of privately leased plots.

Operated by the city since 1966, the center leases its 10-foot-by-20-foot plots to residents who commit to tend them and agree to pay the annual fee - currently $25. The garden is so popular there's a six-month waiting list to get a plot.

``It's the gardeners' commitment of time that's the hard part,'' said Patricia Jones, the center's head gardener. ``We can evict people who let their gardens get overrun with weeds.''

Several gardeners said their vegetables were far more flavorful than commercially grown produce, but all agreed that the most important thing they cultivated at the garden was a sense of peace.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many of the center's 400 gardeners have been seeking comfort from the national crisis by connecting with nature, Jones said.

``Just being outside and being with nature really is an escape and a very therapeutic thing to do,'' she said.

Mark Gilles, 46, a history teacher at Crespi High School in Encino, said he came to the plot the day after the attacks to escape the pervading sense of fear and confusion.

``It gave me time to myself, to reflect. And, as a teacher, it was a nice respite from having to know all the answers,'' said Gilles.

Craig said he has found solace through gardening since he began tending his plot some five years ago. However, he said, since the attacks, his gardening has been more important than ever.

``For a few hours, I can come here and think, 'This is my world and I can control it,''' Craig said. ``Instead of turning on CNN and thinking 'Oh, my God,'' I can come here and relax and revitalize.''

Last December, the center doubled the number of gardeners by expanding to an area across the street, said Jones. Still, a waiting list holds about 40 people who want to lease the plots.

A handful of plots have been dubbed the Gorilla Garden, and are used by volunteers to grow treats for animals at the Los Angeles Zoo. Sugar cane and corn, for example, are grown for the apes and elephants, and rosemary and fennel are harvested for the snow leopards.

For many of the older gardeners at the center, they say the small plots give them a reason to get up in the morning and fill them with a sense of purpose.

Reed, a retired contractor, said his garden boosts both his physical and mental well-being.

``Everyone has to have a reason for being, and three times a week, I have someplace to go and something to do,'' said Reed, working up a sweat as he pulled weeds. ``I come out here and dig awhile and time just flies. This place is vital to my well-being and health.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) Larry Craig of Studio City will harvest pineapple sage, fresh lima beans and sugar snap peas from his plot for his Thanksgiving dinner.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) The community garden is so popular there is a six-month waiting list to lease a plot from the city. Gardeners lease the 10-foot-by-20-foot plots for $25 a year and must commit to tending them.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News

Map:

Sepulveda Community Gardens