Experience Detroit’s Amazing Community Gardens
Fall is the perfect time to tour Detroit urban gardens. Guest blogger Denny Scholl suggests a few gardens for you to check out so you can create your own self-guided tour of Detroit that takes you off the beaten path and out into various Detroit neighborhoods –Karin, City Tour Detroit
Community gardens are thriving in Detroit despite the pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions. So many people are reaping what they sow on often already socially distant plots that the Motor City one day might also be called a Garden City.
Let’s put on our gardening gloves and dig into some of Detroit’s community gardens:
Cadillac Urban Gardens
Cadillac Urban Gardens, on Merritt Street in the southwest part of the city, once was an empty parking lot, but look at it now. Gardeners have transformed that lot into a vibrant community garden having a big impact on local neighborhoods.
In the spring and summer, volunteers at Cadillac Urban Gardens plant, water and collect their vegetables. The produce is free to locals, many of whom are struggling to put fresh food on the table.
A visit to the community garden also is a great way for kids to get their hands dirty as they learn about and pick fresh vegetables.
In Memory of Community Garden
At In Memory of Community Garden, in the Warrendale community of Detroit, families can grow together. Produce grown on 28 beds on several lots goes to low-income families in need, community food banks, and pantries.
The garden isn’t just a source of food, it also helps beautify the community. Educational workshops make community gardening easy for newcomers.
North Cass Community Garden
North Cass Community Garden in Midtown offers Detroiters a plot where they can grow their own vegetables in exchange for a small fee. The garden is maintained and operated by the non-profit Midtown Detroit Inc.
Just follow the rules and you can grow pretty much whatever you like. Some of the more popular vegetables grown in Detroit include sweet corn, tomatoes and green beans.
Any excess produce from North Cass Community Garden goes into a “share” box for people to take.
North Cass Community Garden also offers year-round programs and activities. Enjoy a picnic, gardening classes, and weed-and-wine events.
This community garden is pretty popular and plots go quickly, but you can easily get on the waiting list for next year.
Eden Gardens Block Club
At Eden Gardens, people of all ages work together to remove eyesores from the city’s east side. Take a tour of the city and check out the once vacant lots that are now beautiful gardens.
Eden Gardens volunteers are committed to cleaning up the area while growing enough healthy food for neighbors to share. The urban garden is also a place where children can learn and play.
Brightmoor Community Garden
Created in the summer of 2013, Brightmoor Community Garden has expanded over the years and yields an abundance of crops.
You’ll find a wide variety here including peas, tomatoes, greens, and lettuce. The produce is available to the neighborhood, and volunteers are always welcome.
Georgia Street Community Collective
Georgia Street Community Gardens, which started as three empty lots near Harper and Gratiot, is now a thriving community garden.
The garden’s twin goals are to provide the community with food while giving the next generation excellent leadership skills.
Hope Takes Root Community Garden
Hope Takes Root is among the oldest community gardens in Detroit. The garden on Wabash and Temple streets in the North Corktown neighborhood was founded to address the issue of food security in Detroit.
Community members are welcome to volunteer and pick produce.
Detroit Food Zoo
Gleaners Detroit Food Zoo is a self-guided learning community garden. Organizers aim to teach young people all about nutrition and how to plant, weed, water and harvest their own gardens.
Community Gardens Growing in Detroit
The popularity of Detroit’s urban gardens and farms is booming as more people embrace the farm-to-table concept. And during this era of COVID-19, community gardening provides people in Detroit the chance to enjoy some fresh air and fresh food while seeing their neighbors.
How does your garden grow, Detroit? With the time and effort of community volunteers.
Don’t let a small yard deter you from planting. Experience the thrill of growing your own vegetables at Detroit’s community gardens.
By Denny Scholl
Denny Scholl is a third-generation farmer who hopes to pass his five-acre farm down to his sons one day. He grows green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini for his family and neighbors who visit him at the local farmers market. What he doesn’t sell, he donates or barters for baked goods.