Edible Beauty, Community Roots: Inside Oases Botanic Gardens
- Oct 21, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: May 12
FarmHer Carmen McKee is transforming Gary, Indiana, one healing garden at a time. In her recent inspiring interview with Joseph Skibbie, she shares how Oases Botanic Gardens grew from a spiritual calling into a thriving community sanctuary filled with edible flowers, herbs, fruit trees, and gourmet garlic. Take a moment to learn more about her vision for a nurturing garden in Gary, Indiana.
At Oases Botanic Gardens, Carmen has created a healing environment built around edible flowers, herbs, gourmet garlic, and hands‑on agricultural learning. The gardens function as both a sanctuary and a classroom, inviting visitors to explore the sensory richness of plants while learning practical skills that support food security and ecological awareness.
Carmen’s farming practices reflect her dedication to conservation and regenerative agriculture. She incorporates native and pollinator‑friendly plantings, maintains an active apiary, and uses cover crops, crop rotation, and on‑site composting to build healthy soil. A major milestone in her recent work was the installation of a high tunnel to support specialty crop production for her FarmHer‑to‑Mama Initiative, expanding her ability to grow nutrient‑dense food for families and community members.
At the heart of her philosophy is a belief in the power of community. She encourages people to build relationships that extend beyond professional roles, to nurture one another, and to invest in the collective well-being of their neighbors. Her work embodies that principle, weaving together agriculture, education, and healing into a model of what community‑rooted stewardship can look like.
Through hands‑on learning, beekeeping education, foraging, garlic tastings, and multi‑generational gatherings, Oases is proof that when you nurture people and plants together, abundance follows.
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