Las Parcelas, a community garden in the Norris Square neighborhood of Philadelphia, began with brushes and paint, rather than shovels and seeds. Plans for the space began in the 1980s. It was not until a summer day in 1992, however, that a “massive multi-agency, anti-drug raid” in “The Badlands” (so called because of the area’s […]
When the abandoned gas station that had been owned by artist Vickie Jo Sowell’s long-time neighbor Big Daddy Green burned down in 2001, the City of Emeryville asked her what she thought should be done with the site. Big Daddy’s Complete Rejuvenating Community Garden is the result, the name a riff on Mr. Green’s original […]
This story was created by teachers who participated in the Smithsonian Gardens & National Postal Museum professional development workshop “Telling Garden Stories in the Digital Age,” July 2014. The teachers were challeneged to explore green spaces near the National Postal Museum, create a persuasive garden story, and design a semi-postal stamp to encapsulate their cause. The […]
This story was created by teachers who participated in the Smithsonian Gardens & National Postal Museum professional development workshop “Telling Garden Stories in the Digital Age,” July 2014. The teachers were challeneged to explore green spaces near the National Postal Museum, create a persuasive garden story, and design a semi-postal stamp to encapsulate their cause. […]
North Austin Community Garden is a partnership between the City of Austin and YMCA of Austin. Local artists Lucy Begg and Robert Gay of Thoughtbarn were commissioned by Austin’s Art in Public Places program to design and build the garden. Although the garden only opened recently, the community’s response has been overwhelmingly positive and plans […]
Motivated by Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote “you must be the change you wish to see in the world,” Trenton-based artist collective and non-profit organization S.A.G.E. Coalition (“Styles Advancing Graffiti’s Evolution”) transformed an abandoned lot next to their artist studio into a community garden. The most prominent artwork in the garden is its namesake, the mural […]
Note from the Artist and founder: “Before you read the story of the Please Touch Garden I would like to dedicate this story with a thank you to the many that helped make it possible. I did pour my heart into making the Please Touch Community Garden a reality, but it was truly the many […]
Sunflower Village, a community garden in the Franklin Square neighborhood of Baltimore, has been growing strong since 2010, when the Franklin Square Community Association decided to take over a large abandoned lot. Several years before, five houses stood where the Sunflower Village now resides. When they were torn down, all that remained was the neglected […]
Initially, a group of Lafayette Community members came together to form the Local Foods Group under the inspired leadership of local “green” activists. From 2008 through 2011 the group searched Lafayette for an appropriate site to establish a community garden and outdoor learning center. The goal was to create an inviting community space where citizens […]
If you ever want to go to a nice museum, then go to one that has nature within it. In this garden are all sorts of things that you are going to want to see, so stay tuned to what I am going to say. This is some museum or garden! Actually, it is both. […]
The MGG, begun in 1988, honors the Ojibwe culture and features flora used by the Ojibwe Native Americans. Artist Susan Swerda Foss has studied the flora for over twenty nine years. The garden is in the shape of a Canadian Goose, measuring 830 feet long, and the flora is planted so that in the future […]
The Garden Path: Green, Growing, and Blooming Project Journal Assisted Living Facility #1, Sevierville, TN The Garden Path ~ Green, Growing, and Blooming Project emerged as a tangible remembered connection and, consequently, a pathway to engagement,following my mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, a connection enlarging her narrowing view of her world. She had been an inveterate […]
The Garden Path ~ Green, Growing, and Blooming Project emerged as a tangible remembered connection and, consequently, a pathway to engagement following my mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, thereby, enlarging her narrowing view of her world. She had been an inveterate gardener and had lived in tune with the seasons. The everyday visual signs of nature—sunshine, […]
Over the years my work with the gardens at the National Museum of Dance has allowed me to demonstrate the close relationship of gardens with dance. Various areas of each garden reflect different dance styles and relate to choreography within the natural environment. The gardens have become a seasonal tribute to the enduring art form […]
In the heart of Burglund, amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, lies a hidden gem—a vibrant oasis known as Gertrude’s Garden. What was once a neglected patch of land has blossomed into a beacon of hope and renewal, a testament to the collective spirit and resilience of the neighborhood. Gertrude’s Garden didn’t spring […]