So what is the purpose of a community garden and how you can make it work in your favor?
Community gardens have started to win over all types of neighborhoods in the last couple of years, but not a lot of us are familiar with them or the functions they can perform for our communities.
These gardens can take a lot of forms, but they are generally shared spaces where the community can come together and grow foods and plants of their choosing, while also being a space for social interactions, learning, and even a recreational space.
A lot of the time, a community garden will be built on a patch of land that is rented or donated by someone and the residents of the area it is in.
Having such a garden can be a great way to create connections with your neighbors; it can be a great way to help the community, learn a new hobby, and socialize with people from all walks of life and ages.
If you want to know how you can design one, what to look out for, and how you can convince your community to gather around such a great initiative, keep on reading!
What do you think about community gardens? Do you think it would serve your community? Share any and all thoughts in the comments!
How do you plan for a community garden?
The purpose of a community garden is different; as a result, it will also look different depending on the associated community.
A lot of people end up using community gardens as places where they grow and nurture plants and vegetables. There are other ones that have little to do with growing flowers or food.
However, there are many places that focus on the growing of crops, especially if they are in a food desert, have no space to garden, or have a local food pantry!
They can end up being a gathering space for exercise or recreation, a space where the community can gather to socialize, a source of food, a haven for pollinators needed in the area, or just a space in the neighborhood that needs to be beautified!
The purpose of the garden will be decided between all the stakeholders in the plan, and this needs to happen before you start the project.
That way everyone involved and the community will be involved, and you will be able to find the best fit for your family.
Anyone can start a community garden, but history shows us that the best fits for these projects end up being people with experience, or the likes of horticulturists, landscape designers, garden clubs, educators, social groups, or people with experience in organizing spaces.
Even if they do not take the lead, they are invaluable to the project since they will be able to bring along their expertise and skills, and they may even have more access to materials.
5 Types of community gardens to consider
While one of the types of community gardens (the neighborhood ones) is considered the most common one and they are given as an example, there are a lot more types out there that you should consider for your community.
Here are the community gardens most people end up encountering and organizing in their communities:
- Residential gardens: most commonly seen in retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and other types of housing structures;
- Demonstration gardens: specific to geographical regions and usually filled with native plants, used to teach and show local residents different garden ideas and techniques;
- School gardens: run by teachers, student volunteers, and the community, used as teaching grounds for everyone that could attend, mostly focused on children;
- Institutional gardens: organized by and run by government-overseen groups, hospitals, churches, universities, veteran centers, and other types of organizations;
- Neighborhood gardens: the most common, where the grounds are divided by plots and neighbors grow their own herbs, food, and flowers; can be found in different areas, from vacant land lots to yards, parks, and even inner city grounds.
Design ideas for a community garden
Chances are you may end up organizing a neighborhood community garden, and the design for it can be pretty confusing at first.
The most common way of organizing it is in plots, with most people choosing to go for raised garden beds so that each space is divided and people can grow whatever they would like in their space.
Some people end up making their community garden a cooperative one, where everyone pitches in and works for the harvest, and then everyone shares it at the end.
Sometimes community gardens are designed to help with rehabilitation as well. Youth gardens have been organized to help students better understand gardening techniques and ethics, along with soil maintenance and pollination.
There have been cases where youth gardens end up being included in court-ordered community service so that youth can help with the garden while also being supervised by adults.
The design and scope of your community garden can be customized to your community’s needs, and this can take very different forms.
You can also end up selling the harvest in order to make up money for charities or other needs of the community, or you can end up growing these crops to help those less fortunate, or just yourself.
How to get started
The best way to get started is to talk with your community and set up a support team.
If you have an HOA, you may want to start there. If not, you can gather some neighbors and talk about how you can set this thing together.
People who want to get more involved can form a coordinating staff and even have a president, or you can just be an informal group working together.
Remember that if you put together a group, you all will need to work together to make this garden work, which will mean you will need to debate and vote on actions.
Then you can see how you can make the community happen; you may need to identify some resources, apply for necessary grants, or search for donors and volunteers, as well as make sure you have a well-structured design and idea for the garden
Likewise, do not forget about sourcing the likes of water and electricity if needed.
It will take a little bit of work, and you will have to spread the word through the community but believe us, you will not regret it.
If you want to get more insight and practical advice on how to start a community garden in your area, you should give this book on the matter a read!
If you want to know more about your garden or the plants that you love, we’ve got more of them coming! For other insightful articles, make sure you check out the rest of our tips category here!
