Robin Mankey revives Joan Targ's dream garden in Portola Valley Robin Mankey revives Joan Targ's dream garden in Portola Valley (May 09, 2001)

By Marion Softky

Robin Mankey has many lives: mother, doll-maker, story-teller, corporate recruiter _ and now farmer.

Under Ms. Mankey's energetic hand, Joan Targ's dream of an organic garden on the open space of her Hayfields property in Portola Valley lives on.

In honor of Mother's Day _ Mother Earth, that is _ Ms. Mankey will host a "Love-your-Mother Brunch" on Sunday, May 20, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, on her terrace overlooking the valley. Participants will taste her freshly picked leeks, fava beans and onions in an organic repast catered by Laura Stec and EEAT (Environmental Eating Action Team), a program of Bay Area Action and the Peninsula Conservation Center.

Three years after Mrs. Targ's unexpected death, the garden she fought for over six grueling years is growing enthusiastically, although it is only one acre instead of the four acres she planned. From wherever she is, Mrs. Targ should relish the good soil, the onions and artichokes and 20 baby fruit trees, the lizards and butterflies and hummingbirds, the friends and children, and the memorial circle in the garden that was her dream.

Mrs. Targ's garden has a troubled past. Some neighbors, upset by the proximity of a four-acre farm to their homes, and believing they had rights over the uses of the 50 acres of private open space in Mrs. Targ's Hayfields subdivision, took the issue to Town Hall and sued in court. A court decision in favor of Mrs. Targ was handed down in 1998, shortly before she died of a stroke.

After Mrs. Targ's death, her family continued to support the farm. Her husband, Russell Targ of Palo Alto, hired Bob McLaren of Woodside, who ran the farm for two years and installed raised beds and drip irrigation.

This year, Mr. McLaren has left, and Ms. Mankey, who has been chief volunteer, is taking over. She is living in the Targ house with her family, and managing the farm, along with her other activities.

"I am caretaker for this era of the farm," she says. "We have a pretty good corps of about a dozen volunteers, including some neighbors."

Neighbor Sioux Atkinson was out digging on a recent spring morning. She enjoys working in the garden when she has time, and is available for watering when needed. "I love it," she says. "I most enjoy the community, when several of us are doing things together. I love seeing things grow."
Robin Mankey's other lives

"I live a lot of lives. The farm is one of them," says Ms. Mankey in the Targ living room overlooking San Francisco Bay.

Ms. Mankey was born in Los Angeles and graduated with a degree in business from California State University in Northridge. She moved to San Francisco in 1990 with a daughter, Ami, and soon became friends with Joan Targ, in a circle of women who used to meet in Menlo Park to share stories. "It made me realize how important it is to share stories," she says. "You never know when you're going to go."

While she earned a living as a corporate recruiter with Palmer Advantage in Cupertino, Ms. Mankey learned to love making dolls, and telling stories with movement and dance. Now she often teaches doll-making to schools and groups. "

The Targ living room is adorned with several striking examples of dolls made with natural materials _ sticks, gourds, seaweed, natural fibers. "I try to use natural wools and cottons _ and silk if I'm lucky," she says. "All the dolls have stories."

After Mrs. Targ's death, Ms. Mankey became chief volunteer on the farm. Since 1999, she has lived in the house with her family. They include Dr. Damon Miller, a radiologist who practices acupuncture and alternative healing in Los Altos; and her two daughters. Ami attends Woodside High School, and Mayetta goes to the University Heights Montessori Pre-school.

Just last week, Mayetta's class came up to the farm. The high point was visiting two goats and a llama _ on loan from a Woodside neighbor _ who were chomping weeds in the garden. "They were just enthralled," Ms. Mankey says.

Now Ms. Mankey plans to create a children's circle with benches and a picnic table in a grove of oak trees below the garden. "When children come to the farm, it is a place for story-telling," she says. "They can watch birds, hunt for lizards, or count rocks."

In time, Ms. Mankey and Dr. Miller, who also does his share of farm work, hope that "the farm will become more and more of a community-based farm, as Joan had envisioned. We, together with a community of volunteers, will continue to work with the earth and the things that grow there."

Last year the farm produced abundant vegetable and flowers. Some were sold, and some of the less perfect went to volunteers. "We gave lots of squash last year to St. Anthony's," Ms. Mankey says, gesturing widely. "You turn around and they're that big."

Ms. Mankey has been working with Valley of Heart's Delight, a Palo Alto organization dedicated to creating networks among the growers, buyers and eaters of locally grown organic food.

She also needs more volunteers to help at the farm, especially now that they are preparing the soil to plant summer crops of squash, beans, pumpkins, cucumbers and tomatoes. "We have Saturday work parties, followed by a delicious community lunch," she says.

"The farm is forever," Ms. Mankey concludes. "It will continue to be a habitat for birds and butterflies and snakes _ and grandchildren."

To reach Ms. Mankey, call 851-1356.

For the Love-Your-Mother Brunch, at $15 each, call Laura Stec at 962-9876, ext. 346; or e-mail LauraStec@aol.com.

For Valley of Heart's Delight, call 328-7756.