Three problems that have occurred in the lot.

Gonzalo, an eighth grade Guatemalan boy, says how although he learned English by watching TV and playing with others, his father never had such chances to learn, only speaking an Indian language. However, when Tio Juan (the father) learned about the garden and started to help plant, Gonzalo sees that gardening is a universal language, something everybody can understand.

Nine-year-old Kim, a young Vietnamese girl, who stands before the family altar paying respect to her dead father. She reflects how she never got to meet him, and how he was a farmer. Kim also remembers how she planted lima beans with her class the year prior, so she plants lima beans and resolves to have them survive.

Sae Young, an older Korean woman, explains how she used to love being around people, this changing one day when she is robbed at her store. She became a recluse, slowly learning to be around people again. This progress is boosted and completed when she helps with the garden, and has a sense of family again.