Like in The Secret Garden, when a story revolves around growing something out of the ground, you can bet that the author means to show something else growing, too: something metaphorical, usually positive, maybe even miraculous. If you've read The Secret Garden or seen the movie, you know that the girl grows flowers, but on a deeper level, she's developing independence and growing out of her sour, spoiled self and into a cheerful girl who cares for others.
The same thing is going on in Seedfolks, just with a bunch of characters instead of one. Each of them is trying to deal with or get over some type of personal turmoil. By tending the garden, staying busy, creating something meaningful, and finding companionship, all of these characters find some measure of inner peace. They start out lonely, or frightened, or frustrated, but by the time they get down to digging in the dirt and making something grow, their state of mind is more peaceful than before.
Take Curtis, for example. Before he gets involved in the garden, he's vain: he's obsessed with building his muscles. He was totally in love with Lateesha, but he lost her and he can't get over it. So he starts to work in the garden, and after creating something other than bigger muscles, he realizes that he takes pride in the garden. Because that's something outside of himself, he starts to become less egotistical and more mature. It's a more peaceful state of mind: he goes from being frustrated to being closer to happy.
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