This community garden was established in 2011 by then Alderman Gene Schulter. It was a dirty lot…read morebefore it was developed into this green urban space. It is completely organic, adhering to strict standards to keep it that way. I have had the pleasure of helping maintain the garden since the beginning. It is very well run by the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber, along with many really awesome community gardeners from the area. Plots vary from vegetable gardens to zen areas and we even have some hops growing from year to year. If you are interested in participating, contact the chamber. There is a waitlist for plots that you can be added to. The garden is usually locked but if you come by when some of the gardeners are around, you are more than welcome to walk through and admire the hard work as long as you respect the space.

I was walking down Chicago Avenue when I was stopped by an enthusiastic young boy pointing me in…read morethe direction of the market. I have walked by this garden many times and was always curious about it. I told the boy that I would be back later in the afternoon. I am glad I did. I just bought a large bag of beautiful looking Spinach for $2-- the young farmers here host a farmers market on Saturdays. I'm not sure what time it starts but it ends at 3. The garden is a part of an organization called Growing Power. Yelp them to find out more. From the website-- The garden is located in the quickly changing neighborhood adjacent to the Cabrini-Green row houses. The garden is a traditional community garden with free plots allocated to individual gardeners. Since its inception, Growing Power has supplied the materials, assisted in designing and building the space, served on the garden's planning committee, provided daily staff and technical assistance during the growing season, and developed and implemented a youth curriculum for neighborhood kids and new gardeners. The gardens 36 biological worm system raised beds were built on top of concrete and have been abundantly producing fresh vegetables and fruits. This garden is designed to create dialogue, community engagement and empowerment as well as introduce a source for fresh, safe, healthy, homegrown produce to the community. The site is also the gathering space for many of the children living in the neighborhood. Garden staff provide a multi-disciplinary curriculum for the two-hundred plus children who visit the garden during the season. Children have the opportunity to learn math through counting and adding tomatoes harvested from the Pizza Garden and to read poems under the pumpkin teepee.

Big, bold and beautiful. They've thought of everyone's needs.and wants. Simply the best of the best…read morecommunity gardens.

I've gardened here for several years. All the amenities listed in the review from 2015 are still…read morethere. Great group of gardeners and a cohesive organizing team that goes above and beyond. There is a gleaning program for plots with extra produce and donation plots are used to grow food for the church food pantry. Finally, I should mention that this garden has an irrigation system. It takes extra work to run the system, but it is SO HELPFUL during heat waves.

This garden area is Divine. The love, loyalty, giving & hardworking is beyond average. It feels…read morelike home & like family to me. In my honest-to-God opinion, I don't think there's anywhere on the planet, could compare to or is equivalent to what is done, accomplished and shared at this garden.

I wanted to wait to write this review until I had more information about it, but, alas, that hasn't…read morehappened. Nevertheless, I want to share the goodness that Sweetwater shares with the community, so here goes! As you can see from the pictures, there is an abundance of verdant goodness being grown here, and a portion of it is free to the community and general public for the picking. Apparently, there is also a farmer's market of sorts with very reasonable prices on Saturdays around noon-ish. I first learned of the Sweetwater Foundation during my undergrad years when the director was one of my Community Development professors. SWF is all about regenerative social justice, and does awesome work teaching aquaponics, urban agriculture, and the like to inner-city students. Anyhoo, I was looking for organic greens for a client, and a friend directed me here. Upon arriving, I saw the plethora of veggies growing, but couldn't locate a soul! I called my friend back, because I knew I had to be in the right place. I didn't, however, know how/who to pay, or just how to go about procuring my goodies. I was told to merely pick what I needed and keep it moving. How amazing is that?! UPDATE ALERT***UPDATE ALERT****UPDATE ALERT***UPDATE This farm is, actually, a part of the Perry Avenue Commons complex. See link below for full details. https://www.sweetwaterfoundation.com/perry-ave-commons/

The locals know to go here for the annual organic greenhouse plant sale, which was Saturday 5/20…read moreand Sunday 5/21. Get there early, as the nicer and larger plants sell very quickly. Also, it's cash only, and make sure you bring your own boxes to carry your plants. The volunteers are really nice and helpful here. Prices started at $3 for the smaller plants and went up from there. The organic green house not only offers children's and adult classes, they also have a wonderful community garden which is open Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 am to 12 pm. it is also the only teaching greenhouse from the Chicago Park District, located within the grounds of Kilbourn Park. They seek to connect people to nature, teach sustainable gardening practices, and promote fresh and healthy food to people of all ages through garden-based programming. Kids can enjoy the Garden Buddies program for toddlers, plus the Harvest Garden and Eco-Explorers programs for youth. Adult gardeners can attend a continuing education series and other workshops sponsored by The Friends of Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse. Although the park is one of the smaller ones in the city, they have a soccer field, tennis courts, playground, basketball court, Kilbourn Park also offers different after school programs for kids and a summer camp that is quite good.

This is quite an extensive park! We met a group of friends here for one of their periodic bat…read morewalks, which I think was a program of the Friends of Kilbourn Park. They do have a good sized field house here, with programming for a variety of age ranges, so it's worth checking out the CPD activities schedule. There's lots of green space, but also baseball fields, tennis courts, and a nice sized playground. The playground, too, serves a nice range of ages. But what I liked most about this park was the greenhouse and outdoor natural play area. There are places for kids to sit for various activities that take place here, an outdoor kitchen, and a large greenhouse. It's called a "teaching greenhouse", and is unique amongst Chicago parks (at least as of 2026). There's a program called garden buddies aimed at toddlers and I wish I lived closer to be able to have my child participate in it! There's also a plant sale each year. If all that weren't enough, an orchard--the first in a major metropolitan city in the US!--was planted in 2008. Apples, pears, and more--including the paw paw, an unusual, native Illinois fruit--grow on these trees. Currants, berries, and more have also been planted here. I'm excited to keep an eye on their events.

This place is small and intimate but it was so nice. Now, when I say that it's small, I'm…read morereferring to the greenhouse side. It isn't a huge park, but it is big enough for a little adventure. The plants are well kept. There are so many, and they don't have signs for them all, lol. So have your identifier app ready, lol. The temperature is set to maintain the plants, so you may want to have a nice jacket that you can take off while being inside. Other than that, the plants are beautiful and huge! They had parrots!!!! Lol, they weren't too talkative (until you walk away, lol) This is a great place to visit and take in different beautiful species of plants, the water system that they have set up as a coy pound, the HUGE plants that they have .... it is a great substitute for a botanical garden visit. Oh... AND IT'S FREE!!! LOL

We had a 5 year old bday party there and it was a blast! So well prepared and they really think of…read moreeverything. They have 2 main activities (terrarium craft and scavenger hunt) and two smaller activities to keep the kids busy in between (coloring and bird toy making). They have two staff to help with kids. We found with 5 year olds, having 4 extra adults was nice. They supplied tablecloths and a happy birthday banner. It was an easy way to celebrate and I would recommend. Sean did a great job being a host for the conservatory

I second what the previous reviewer said about the water being in an uncovered filthy trough. See…read morephoto. After bringing up the matter to the garden managers, there were no changes, only an offer to scrub the sides of the trough. We tried to bring our own water to garden, but ultimately that was a ridiculous endeavor, since we paid to have access to fresh water to water our garden. Never grew a thing because who wants to bring their own water to a community garden, after paying a fee to garden? Like the other reviewer said, we paid for a box of dirt. The woman who started this project left Chicago long ago and I don't know who is at the helm at the moment.

This review is about their two day annual edible plant sale held on May 15 & 16, 2021…read moreat: Chicago Market Grocery Co-op Building 4620 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60640 What an amazing experience...this was their 9th annual edible plant sale for warm weather crops. All of the tables were set up in squares so people could walk around and view all of the amazing offerings. What a colossal variety of offerings. I purchased a Brandywine Tomato plant to grow on my balcony. It was $5.99 for a 4 inch healthy and hearty plant! Already a week later it continues to thrive and grow taller with more leaves! I could not be happier. The seedling offerings included: Tomatoes - Amish Paste, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Sweet Red Cherry, Black Cherry, Chocolate Cherry, Cherokee Purple, German Johnson, Green Zebra, Mortgage Lifter, Paul Robeson, Rutgers, San Marzano, Sungold, Taxi, Yellow Pear, and Tomatillos Peppers - Sweet Banana, California Wonder, Orange Bell, Purple Bell, Red Bell, Yellow Bell, Anaheim hot, Cayenne hot, Habanero hot, Jalapeno hot, Pepperoncini hot, Poblano Ancho hot, Serrano hot Eggplant - Black Beauty, Rosa Bianca, White Cucumber - Adam Gherkin, Diva, Marketmore, Mexican Sour Gherkin, Pickling, Straight 8 Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower Cabbage, Collards, Kale (green, red, Dino) Greens - Arugula (regular, Wasabi), Lettuce (Butter, Gourmet Mix, Romaine), Mesclun Mix (regular, spicy), Sorrel, Spinach Squash - Butternut, Delicata, Gold Rush compact yellow summer, Spacemiser compact zucchini, Peter Pan (patty pan), Pie Pumpkin Edible Flowers - Calendula, Echinacea, English Daisy, assorted Nasturtiums including Alaska, Empress India, Fordhook, Gleam, Jewel Herbs - Basil (many types), Chamomile, Chives (regular, garlic), Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, assorted Lavender, Lemon Grass, Marjoram, assorted Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, assorted Sage, Summer Savory, Tarragon, assorted Thyme, also some unique herbs such as Mexican Pepper Plant (Root Beer Plant), East and West Indian Lemongrass, Rue, and Tea Tree An Overview of the Peterson Garden Project- "Founder LaManda Joy, inspired by her own parent's involvement in WW2, discovered that the empty lot at Peterson and Campbell had once been a Victory Garden. With the hope of doing something positive on this historic piece of empty city land and "teaching 20 people how to grow their own food" our project was born." Source: https://www.petersongarden.org/ FYI- The Victory Gardens were established to help sustain the fruit and vegetable supply by encouraging and creating local gardens during the World War II effort to provide individuals and families across the United States with access to food. Victory Gardens in Chicago: "During World War II, Chicago led the nation in urban food production with its Victory Gardens program of 1,500 community gardens and more than 250,000 home gardens. The city's North Park neighborhood was also home to the largest Victory Garden in the United States." Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-5196 Learn More about the Chicago Victory Garden Movement and the founder of the Peterson Garden Project LaManda Joy by clicking the link below: https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-5196

The Therapeutic scenics with the Horses, Water Sprays and Pavilion were AWESOME. My Handsome…read moreHeavenly Home Brother call this location Thee Sanctuary

I love this park, but I'm quite lucky to be only a block away. It has a barn with two horses , one…read moreShetland horse, two goats, and I think 10 chickens. Don't feed them, and pet them at your own risk. This park also has its own garden. Full of peppers and cucumbers and eggplant. They also have their own being a sanctuary for making honey. When they harvest they bring it to the farmers market on Thursdays between 7 AM and 1 PM. This park also has its own pond with the fountain and a sidewalk that goes all the way around for a walking path. This park also has frisbee golf. This park also has dog parks this park also has a driving range. This is all one block from my house. Oh my goodness, I am almost forgot, they have a stage too. I believe this year they're also going to host movies in the park. I'm very excited for this summer and what the park has to offer.