Neighborhood garden trend blossoms in Richmond

SLIDESHOW: Gardening in Humphrey Calder Park

New neighborhood gardens are growing in a Richmond city park, in a project that could lead to adopt-a-park opportunities around the city.

The new community garden at Humphrey Calder Park, next to Patterson Avenue between Thompson Street and Interstate 195, was constructed the last week in April, planted the first week in May and already is bringing neighbors closer to neighbors.

Tricycle Gardens, Ellwood Thompson's Local Market and neighbors in the Fan and Museum districts partnered with the city to build the garden with about $20,000 worth of donated goods and services, said Lisa Taranto, director of the nonprofit Tricycle Gardens, which has helped to create several community gardens around the city. The donated goods and services include fencing, a wooden shed, lumber for raised beds, topsoil, compost, water lines, and labor to build the beds and shed.

All 29 of the 8-by-12-foot organic gardening beds have been rented for $50 apiece, and about 20 people are on a waiting list, said Melanie Moran, one of the organizers and gardeners. Three children's garden plots and three handicapped-accessible garden plots will be built this month.

"This will be a get-your-community-together thing," said Rhianna Holmes, 31, before a midweek community meeting at the garden. "All the people I'm working with, I've never met them before. There are young people, older people, experienced gardeners, people who aren't experienced at all, a hodgepodge. That's what we hoped it would be like."

Holmes has planted seven kinds of heirloom tomatoes, bush beans, zucchini, eggplant and "all different kinds of peppers, hot peppers, because we love peppers," she said. In years past, she's had a garden in the front yard of her house on Parkwood near the Boulevard because it's the only place that gets sun.

"I'm a vegetarian. I eat a ton of vegetables and fresh fruits," she said. "I love the idea that my food is not traveling from California to the East Coast. It has more nutritional value. It tastes better."

J.R. Pope, city parks director, sees the community gardeners at Humphrey Calder as similar to "friends-of-the-park" groups elsewhere.

"They support the park, clean up, help us fix things," he said. "It gives those people kind of a sense of ownership. It was their park before, but now it has more meaning because of the sweat equity they have in the park.

"It gives a little more unity. It's also a plus for the city, because you've got a few more eyes watching out for the park."

He's open to the idea of vegetable gardens in other parks, on a case-by-case basis.

"We're trying to promote an adopt-a-park program," he said. "I've got a lot of little areas we have to maintain, like triangles in the street." A large triangle at McDonough Street and Forest Hill Avenue in South Richmond, for instance, may become an other garden spot if neighbors adopt the project.

"We're trying to set up something to make it easy," Pope said, "to not have to reinvent the wheel each time. At Humphrey Calder, we were approached by people who wanted to do this. It just mushroomed into a great project."

Chesterfield County has about 75 garden plots at Rockwood Park, where they occupy a swath of open land beneath a power line that cuts through the park. Until recently, the park had about 10 plots open each year.

"The last two years, with the economy and people saying, 'I'm not sure what's on my produce, I'm going to grow it myself,' I don't even put people on the waiting list any more," said Mark Battista, who rents the 20-by-20-foot plots for $30 a season.

Jerry Armeli, 85, who's rented the same plot at Rockwood since the program began in 1981, said he has no room for a garden at his house in Woodlake.

He gets enough beans, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, beets, turnips and squash to supply himself and his wife, with plenty left for his neighbors.

Getting a good return requires investing some time in weeding and harvesting.

Cynthia Watkins, 34, who's helping with Ellwood Thompson's plot at the Humphrey Calder garden, said she probably spends 10 hours a week on her kitchen garden.

Armeli has seen what happens when people plant it and ignore it.

"There are always a number of people who abandon them about June," he said, "when they can't find the vegetables any more, when the weeds outnumber the vegetables."

Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or .