Years from now in Lyons, Colorado, a child who missed the bitterness of a 2013 natural disaster might enjoy the sweetness of an apple or apricot, peach or pear.
The property at 124 4th Ave., on the North Saint Vrain Creek, was underwater during historic floods.
Now, saplings grow where homes once stood.
After the deluge, the Federal Emergency Management Agency forbade any future construction at the site and adjoining land over fears it could happen again. But Glen Delman’s idea to plant an orchard passed muster.
The Lyons Community Orchard features a wide variety of young fruit trees, each named and described, in a meadow that’s part of a large revitalization effort along the flood plain of the St. Vrain River, which ran over its banks in 2013, inundating a huge swath of the town. 
Apple blossoms on a young tree at the at the Lyons Community Orchard.
“I love growing fruit and I picked fruit on apple farms as a kid,” Delman said, squinting in the late-morning sun on a recent day.
“We want to feed the community,” added Adrean Kirk. “That’s what makes a community. Food.”
Kirk leads the Lyons Community Farm Project, which helped Delman’s vision bear fruit.
While the dribble of a nectarine and the burst of a cherry may be years away — the plants are still relative infants — the orchard has already brought townsfolk together to tend the trees. Saturday morning’s Spring Blossom Festival also aims to make this tight-knit community even tighter.
“We don’t just have grit. We see that there’s possibility and opportunity for rebirth,” Kirk said. “Something new can come from tragedy.”
On this riverside plot, wind and rushing water muffle the whir of nearby traffic, as an unending necklace of vehicles heads to Rocky Mountain National Park. Also on this slice of land, a stone labyrinth and artwork fashioned from flood detritus invite reflection. Delman wants to erect a wind phone, to encourage people to speak to loved ones who have passed on.
“I’ve been hearing so much about how the lack of community and of being social in the United States is a disease these days,” Delman said. “We’re really trying hard to make this a community effort.”
Indeed Delman and Kirk, both parents, look forward to the day when Lyons’ children can enjoy the fruit of their elders’ labor. But more likely, it’ll be a squirrel or bear that gets the first taste, Delman quipped.
A small sampling of the public art at the Labyrinth in Lyons. It’s part of a large revitalization effort that includes a new orchard along the flood plain of the St. Vrain River, which ran over its banks in 2013, inundating a huge swath of the town. 
A heart-shaped piece of art created out of flood debris, at the Labyrinth in Lyons.
