Month: July 2016

A Place of Respite, A Place to Connect

In 2010 a group of neighbors began our community garden with organizational support from Gateway Greening and with financial support from Park Central Development, from the West Pine-Laclede Neighborhood Association, and from the Manhattan Townhouse Association.   Over the ensuing years, the Boyle-Laclede Garden has grown and improved with input from local gardeners, residents, neighborhood associations, and local craftsmen.   Among the additions are a communal herb garden, fruit trees, grape vines, a compost bin, as well as a pergola and picnic table – the sum of which is an incredible asset to the neighborhood, aesthetically and socially.  

I became involved four years ago and learned that a garden is so much more than just a place to raise vegetables. It is a place to connect with other gardeners, with neighbors who share our passion, and with passers-by.  People love to check out our garden and start conversations with the people who tend it.  What a great way to get to know your neighbors!  One day a woman came and sat on our bench facing the roses and the vegetable beds.  She told me that this was her place of peace and she would come whenever she could while her husband was being treated at Siteman Cancer Center.   Another day a group of boy scouts stopped to help turn the compost bin.

We are far from experts or master gardeners.  We are just people who love the concept of growing our own food while building community and improving our neighborhoods.  As gardeners we share our frustrations and successes with each other and we learn together about best practices in organic gardening.  We learn from our challenges and, hopefully, get a little better each year.

    

-Diana Gualdoni, Garden Leader at the Boyle-Laclede Garden

A Green Oasis Nestled in the Urban Landscape

Opening in 1991, Fox Park Farm (FPF) is one of the oldest continuously operating community gardens in the St. Louis area.  It was founded and maintained for many years by longtime neighborhood resident, Jim Hogan.  Funding was initially provided through the “Weed and Seed” anticrime program.  Over the years FPF has also benefited greatly from the guidance and generosity of Gateway Greening.  The project originally consisted of two very different sites.

Morning Glory Garden, like Fox Park Farm, was situated on three city owned, abandoned corner lots at the intersection of Russell and California in the Fox Park neighborhood.  The Garden was a contemplative area planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers of many types.  Short walk ways and benches were scattered about.  It was a refuge for birds, bees, butterflies and people.  The Farm, just across the street, was dedicated largely to vegetable gardening.  Both had great potential to be welcome assets to a neighborhood faced with numerous urban challenges.

As with all community gardens, FPF grew and matured in fits and starts. Initially, many of the Farmers had limited knowledge of gardening and lacked group cohesion.  A few Farmers tended their own plots meticulously, while the bulk were satisfied to plant a tomato or two and hope something might grow.  Little attention was paid to the overall maintenance of the Farm.  Over time, weeds far outnumbered the planted crops.  The same neglect affected the Garden.  At their worst, the Farm and the Garden became weed covered eyesores.  Rather than adding to the health and beauty of the neighborhood, they nearly reverted to their previously abandoned lot status.

Slowly, however, a small and steadily growing group of dedicated Farmers joined together to save the Farm.  They sensed that FPF could play a major role in the ongoing revitalization of the neighborhood.  The Farmers developed a bond among themselves and the surrounding neighborhood.  Greater and greater numbers of Farmers began to pitch in to improve the quality of their plots, as well as the common maintenance of the Farm as a whole.  Weeds were pulled, grass was mowed, and the appearance of the Farm slowly, but noticeably improved.

Early success, however, nearly precipitated calamity.  Once the promise of these once abandoned lots became apparent, real estate developers took notice.  Politicians, valuing new tax- paying projects, were enticed to allow destruction of the green space, even though ample abandoned lots were available throughout the neighborhood.  In 2004, Morning Glory Garden was razed for townhomes and FPF was clearly threatened with the same fate.  The Farmers, however, were determined to demonstrate that the benefits of a community garden far outweighed those of additional development.  

The Farmers redoubled their efforts to maintain and improve FPF.  A sense of dedication to the Farm and the neighborhood invigorated them to save the Farm.  They worked to enhance the quality and quantity of food produced from the 30 plus plots.  They removed a grove of “weed trees,” created a community herb garden, built three large wooden compost bins, planted a blueberry patch, and installed pollinator, butterfly and hummingbird gardens filled with a variety of native plants.  Over many years, the perimeter was filled with plants donated from the Great Perennial Divide and salvaged from Morning Glory Garden.

On the political front, Farmers working with the neighborhood association, actively courted city officials, touting the benefits of a successful urban farm to the vitality of the entire neighborhood.  Through their efforts they won the support of their Alderman Christine Ingrassia.  Rather than threatening to eliminate the Farm she has become a strong supporter and secured financing to replace the cracking sidewalk around the Farm, further enhancing the appearance of the Farm.  

Today, Fox Park Farm is a center piece of the Fox Park neighborhood.  It is a green oasis nestled in the urban landscape.  The Farmers harvest impressive quantities of nutritious food for their families and frequently socialize on the Farm patio.  It is what a successful community garden should be and is an integral part of the community it serves.  It is successful because a dedicated core of neighbors, for many years, have been willing to work together to make their neighborhood a great place to live for themselves and their families.  It has been well worth the effort.  Like many other community gardens it has made St. Louis a better place to live.

-Terry Lueckenhoff, Garden Leader at Fox Park Farm

She Was Scared of Bugs When She Started

I have a new gardener at the House of Living Stone Community Garden, who is so enthusiastic about her new experience in gardening.  She had never done this before but she has been so successful.  She was scared of worms and bugs when she started, she didn’t like dirt, but now all of the fear is gone and she is having a blast.  She gets so excited about seeing a yellow blossom turn into a cucumber and being able to produce a 5-pound head of cabbage.   She was able to share her beautiful heads of iceberg lettuce with all of her co-workers for healthy lunch salads.  She is a caregiver for children at a daycare center and she sometimes brings them to the garden to show them how things grow.

As a garden leader, she has been such an uplifting experience for me.  I just enjoy watching her get so excited when she sees her seeds turn into plants and then she gets to harvest her produce.  This garden has helped her in her unhealthy eating habits that she was into before she started gardening.  Her enthusiasm is rubbing off on some of the other gardeners.  She also got into our art project for the garden and has taken it to a new level.  We are truly enjoying our new art space and the stories that are being told by each piece of artwork.

 

Written by Florida Cargill, Garden Leader at House of Living Stone Community Garden

 

Discover more stories from St. Louis school and community gardens in the Gateway Greening Storybook.