David Bates pushed a lawn mower between lush, raised vegetable beds on a recent Thursday morning in a green gem of a garden tucked into a meticulously maintained one-half acre of land near a creek at the back of Charlie Daniels Park in Mt. Juliet.
This former Army colonel (retired after 40 years in the military) was trying to beat the incoming rain while he volunteered at the Jan Littrell Labors of Love Garden.
The garden, under the umbrella of the Wilson County Master Gardeners organization, was founded by Jan Littrell in 2010 to provide fresh vegetables to people in need in Mt. Juliet and the Mt. Juliet Help Center. Bates, 71, joined the garden’s volunteer crew made up of Master Gardeners in 2016 and was named its project manager in 2023…