STRATEGY for a GREEN CITY

THE PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

SUMMER 2008

a publication of

Growing for the Future

From producing fresh

food to strengthening
W alking along a city street, few sights are as
unexpected—or as welcome—as a lush green
garden abundant with vegetables and flowers.
Through its Philadelphia Green program, the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society (PHS) has helped thousands of
Philadelphia residents turn neglected vacant lots into
thriving community gardens in every corner of the city.
neighborhood bonds to PHS supports these gardens with technical assistance,
training, and networking.
In the United States, the modern community gardening
educating children, movement dates from the late 1960s and early 1970s and
grew in concert with the environmental movement. The
majority of community gardens are built on formerly
abandoned city lots—the remnants of a population shift
community gardens have away from cities after World War II.
The aesthetic benefits of urban gardens are obvious.
They transform unsightly vacant lots into oases, providing
a huge impact on the open space, greenery, and a place for city dwellers to enjoy
the outdoors and grow vegetables. Gardeners create a
100 North 20th Street, positive use for land that otherwise would remain an
5th floor quality of city life. eyesore.
Philadelphia, Over the decades, however, it has become increasingly
Pennsylvania 19103 clear that gardens play many other vital roles in urban
Phone: 215-988-8800 communities. They provide important social, economic,
educational, and environmental benefits, yet much of
Fax: 215-988-8810 their potential remains untapped. In the twenty-first
email: pginfo@pennhort.org century, going back to the garden can mean going forward
to a new way of envisioning city life.
 Pat Schogel, a
member of

STRATEGY for a GREEN CITY Hansberry Garden

in Germantown,
displays the
harvest.

CULTIVATING STRONG COMMUNITIES

A great deal has been written about the power of community cities and garden networks are addressing hunger by setting up
gardens to live up to their name—to create a sense of formal systems to tap this natural generosity.
community among city residents who come together across In Philadelphia, PHS’s City Harvest project is a
chasms of race, culture, and economic status to share the collaborative partnership that enables gardeners to share their
simple joys of gardening. This “social capital,” though hard to bounty. Through City Harvest, inmates of the Philadelphia
measure, is an invaluable asset for cities. Prison System nurture vegetable seedlings that are grown to
Philadelphia’s newly appointed director of sustainability, maturity at 30 participating community gardens. The nonprofit
Mark Alan Hughes, says community gardens are “crucial” to a group SHARE (Self Help and Resource Exchange) helps
high quality of life. “They build solidarity among residents and connect gardeners with local food cupboards for distribution of
strengthen people’s attachment, both to the place and to each the produce, and the Health Promotion Council of
other,” he says. “And their collateral benefits extend to the Southeastern Pennsylvania provides nutrition workshops and
neighborhood and to the city as a whole.” recipes to food cupboard clients.
Community gardens give cities an economic boost by In addition to offering fresh produce to people in need, City
increasing nearby property values and retaining residents.1 Harvest has a transforming effect on everyone involved, not
Moreover, gardens indirectly help reduce crime rates by least on the prison inmates, who, by experiencing the
reclaiming spaces that otherwise serve as havens for criminals satisfaction of growing food, doing something positive for their
and bringing neighbors outside as the eyes and ears of the city, and gaining skills they can use on the outside, often begin
community. Less crime means less municipal spending on to see a way out of the cycle of crime and incarceration. “City
police, prison, and courts. Harvest is empowering gardeners to help their neighbors in a
Once the scene of some of the city’s most rampant drug meaningful way while giving prison inmates tools for a better
trafficking, the North Philadelphia
neighborhood of Norris Square is now
home to six prize-winning gardens that Iris Brown of Norris Square works with
reflect the heritage of the predominately
young people in the garden.
Puerto Rican residents. “By working
together we created something from
nothing,” says Iris Brown, who runs the
gardening program for the Norris Square
Neighborhood Project. “It’s like an entirely
different place now, and it all started with
the gardens.”
Perhaps the most tangible social benefit
of community gardening is the food itself.
In Philadelphia and elsewhere, community
gardeners have always had informal ways
of sharing surplus vegetables with their
neighbors and with less fortunate members
of their communities. More recently, many
1
Been, Vicki and Ioan Voicu. 2006. “The Effect of
Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values.”
New York University, Furman Center for Real Estate and
Urban Policy. Available at
www.law.nyu.edu/realestatecenter/publications.
life,” says Philadelphia Green senior director Joan Reilly.
Prison-based horticulture programs like City Harvest can
reduce recidivism by giving participants a positive outlet. In
his book Doing Time in the Garden, James Jiler writes, “Plants
respond to care, and a garden rewards the caretaker with food,
beauty, flowers and a positive response from the community…
that is not readily found in other settings or work sites.”2
Gardeners
at Liberty
TEACHING THROUGH GARDENING
Lands
Another way community gardens change lives is through park and
education. Today’s children have fewer opportunities to
garden
interact with nature than past generations. Many community
gardeners work to change that by partnering with schools or show off
other organizations to offer after-school programs where fresh figs.
children can learn about gardening, nutrition, the natural
environment, and community stewardship.
A program of the Greater Philadelphia Federation of
Settlements, Teens 4 Good was launched at the Journey Home
community garden in North Philadelphia. It engages young
people in hands-on gardening, nutrition, and entrepreneurial
activities. The teens grow plants at six garden sites and sell
produce to restaurants and farmers markets, as well as donate
food through PHS’s City Harvest project. Jamie McNight, who
coordinates Teens 4 Good, describes the effect it has on the
teenagers: “The kids enjoy working outdoors and learning how
plants grow, and they also develop a good work ethic. They
become more aware of their community and more interested in
continuing their education.”
Located in Germantown, the Hansberry Garden and Nature
Center partners with two local elementary schools to offer
after-school programs and a 4-H club. It also has a summer
entrepreneurship program that lets students explore business
ideas using plants, cut flowers, herbs, and bamboo products.
PHS staff member Lisa Mosca works with City Harvest
The Hansberry group collaborates with a nearby senior
center as well. Dave Schogel, one of Hansberry’s founders, is participants at the Philadelphia Prison System garden.
treasurer and head of the programming committee. “We reach
out to children, teenagers, and seniors. We take a very holistic
approach to the garden and to our neighborhood,” he says.

MAKING CITIES GREENER URBAN AGRICULTURE

With concern for the environment becoming a mainstream
issue, there is a new push toward sustainability and “greener”
cities. Community gardens can serve as models for
environmental stewardship. Many gardeners practice natural or
organic growing methods, install solar panels, use rain barrels
to conserve water, and create shelter for wildlife. Community
gardeners are great recyclers as well. They turn garden waste
into compost and rescue cast-off materials for a second use.
And, simply by preserving open green space, gardens improve
air quality and absorb rainwater, reducing flooding and
filtering pollution from the water.
With concerns about food safety, health, and the dearth of
fresh food outlets in many inner-city neighborhoods,
community gardens are an important source of locally grown
produce. Because it requires less energy for transportation,
local food helps reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
Some community gardeners go far beyond vegetables and
flowers. In densely populated South Philadelphia, the
Southwark Community Garden has fruit trees, a berry patch,
and active beehives that produce honey. Bel Arbor, another
garden site, started out as a tree farm. A group of neighbors,
working with PHS, planted nearly 1,000 tree saplings on a lot
left vacant after a factory burned down. The young trees were
2 Jiler, James. Doing Time in the Garden: Life Lessons through Prison
Horticulture. New Village Press, 2006.
Like community gardens, urban farms make fresh produce
available and create a positive use for abandoned urban land.
Usually selling produce within their communities or to nearby
restaurants, urban farms—some nonprofit and some
for-profit—help build local economies; conserve energy
resources; and engage in community education about food,
health, and sustainability.
The Mill Creek Farm is a collectively run urban educational
farm in West Philadelphia. Mill Creek Farm grows food for local
distribution and serves as an education center. Mill Creek Farm
is also a stormwater management demonstration site. Water
from nearby streets is directed toward the farm’s fruit trees.
Greensgrow Farms, in North Philadelphia, is a market and
nursery built on the site of a former steel-galvanizing factory.
Through its “City Supported Agriculture” venture, Greensgrow
works with a network of rural growers and small Philadelphia
businesses to offer meat and dairy products, seasonal produce,
baked goods, the farm’s own honey, and more.

STRATEGY for a GREEN CITY
The Pennsylvania Horticultural
Society (PHS) is a nonprofit mem-
bership organization founded in 1827.
PHS produces the Philadelphia Flower
Show ® and sponsors events,
educational activities, and publications
for novice gardeners, experienced
horticulturists, and flower lovers
of all ages.
PHS’s urban greening program,
Philadelphia Green®, works with
community groups, residents, city
agencies, nonprofits, and other partners
to plan and implement greening projects
throughout the city. Proceeds from the
Flower Show, along with funding from
foundations, corporations, government
agencies, and individuals, help support
its projects. To support the work of
PHS and Philadelphia Green,
please call 215-988-8800 or make a
secure contribution online at
www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org.
© 2008 PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Text: Jane Carroll
Photographs: Margaret Funderburg, Victoria Mehl, Julie Snell
Design: Baxendells’ Graphic
Printed on recycled paper.
Non-profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Philadelphia, PA
Permit No. 2666
SUMMER 2008
then planted in parks, gardens, and streetscapes all over the city. The group went on to establish a
community garden that now includes 25 family plots, a sustainably grown lawn, a mini orchard, and
a meadow. Bel Arbor is a National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat.
THE FUTURE OF COMMUNITY GARDENS
From producing fresh food to promoting good nutrition, from strengthening neighborhood bonds
to educating children, from revitalizing neighborhoods to feeding the hungry, community gardens
have a huge impact on the quality of city life.
To remain viable, these treasured spaces require investment and support. There are many practical
ways in which municipalities can facilitate community gardening. For example, they can revise
outdated zoning ordinances and cumbersome land-transfer systems that pose obstacles. (In
Philadelphia, for example, community gardens are classified as “vacant land,” making it difficult for
gardeners to obtain services like trash pickup.) Many municipalities go beyond just getting out of the
way. Some cities, including Chicago, help negotiate leases for gardeners, leverage private funding,
or make parkland available for garden plots. Many supply mulch, compost, and tools and make water
accessible and affordable.
Few large cities match Seattle in terms of resources invested in community gardening. Through
its extensive P-Patch program, Seattle has made a long-term commitment to support and expand
community gardens. P-Patch maintains several gardens in a land trust; employs paid staff; helps
secure land leases for new gardens; and provides water, materials, training, and organizational
support. Companion projects include hands-on gardening and nutrition education for youth and
promoting urban farming enterprises in low-income communities.
Providing a good quality of life is a top priority for twenty-first-century American cities
competing for jobs and residents, and greener cities are coming out ahead. Local governments are
beginning to take the lead in adopting sustainable practices, embracing the “green” technologies of
the future, and encouraging environmental stewardship. Long a mainstay of the green movement,
community gardens will continue to play as vital a role as ever.
Cover photo: Local schoolchildren enjoy the meadow at Bel Arbor garden in South Philadelphia.
For more information, visit www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org
and click on “Philadelphia Green.”
Philadelphia Flower Show and Philadelphia Green are registered trademarks of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.