You'd be surprised the things you will find moving at 8mph on a bicycle that you would probably…read moremiss at 30 mph driving in a car. Today I rode my bike to El Camino College and tried a few back streets that I had never been on. Along the way, in Lawndale I came across this community garden. It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Rows of corn, squash and other vegetables in a tiny little neighborhood lot that all the neighbors share. I wish I had one of these where I live. After riding home I hopped on the internet and found out that the Dan McKenzie Community Garden is run by The Los Angeles Community Garden Council. This organization apparently helps communities that are interested to have a community garden in their neighborhood. Here's a few words from their website: "Approximately 70 community gardens are growing in Los Angles County, serving 3,900 families. Community gardens are vibrant, cooperative organizations that build neighborhood self-reliance, and reduce poverty, mitigate global warming and benefit the LA River and Ballona Creek watersheds. Los Angeles devotes little taxpayer money to community gardens yet they return abundant neighborhood benefit. Community Gardens and Real Estate Community gardens are a special type of park: they are open to all who apply, but they are self-maintained and self-policed by the membership. Unlike most parks, community gardens occupy three categories of land: private land with short-term leases, public land with short-term leases, and garden-owned land. Several vacant, developable lots in public or private ownership are currently leased for community gardens. Experience has shown that the maintenance costs of vacant lots borne by both public land owners, like the Department of Pubic Works, and private land owners, is high, and to lease their land for a community garden until it is needed for development has benefits for everyone." Needless to say, I think this is awesome. Los Angles needs more community gardens. Check it out for yourself... http://lagardencouncil.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

4/9/23 After the Easter egg hunt with my family in Diamond Bar, my day wouldn't be complete w/o a…read morevisit to the Lakewood Community garden. I just love visiting the garden to see what's growing. Living vicariously through others is exhilarating w/o the hard work-hahaha. Actually, there's nothing like harvesting & reaping what you've sowed. Check out the wonderful photos from today! Met the wonderful neighbors, Tina, a native of China, who speaks both Mandarin& Cantonese, and another neighbor, Bob, who was helping Tina pick some peas. Such lovely people:)) Another fabulous day, on Easter Sunday. Let the weekdays be short to see next weekend's activities:)) Woohoo \(*0*)/

Lovely! Work Hard. Grow your own. Eat organic. Repeat…read more I have a plot here and garden with my husband and kids on the weekends. It's $12/year for the plot "rental" fee and you get free water, manure, and advice from other gardeners. This is an awesome way for us to not only stretch our budget (by growing our own food), teach our kiddos that food doesn't have to come from the grocery store, and meet new people in our own community. ...all for $1 a month and a couple of hours a week..... That's a deal that I can't beat!! BTW - You can only garden here if you are a Lakewood resident and the wait list is between 6 months and 1 year long, but so worth it!

This is a popular gardening park in Santa Monica CA. It's so popular that there is a 5yr waiting…read morelist to get a plot there. The arrangements and choices and types of plants in each plot makes this park so beautiful .... Flowers, succulents, bush foliage, fruit trees, vegetables and more. Some plots are set up with bistro tables surrounded by beautiful flowers growing around. Others are filled with organically grown vegetables and some plots mixed with both. I loved visiting this garden park.

I took a class with the GrowLA Gardens program that's offered through UCANR. The instructors are…read moreMaster Gardeners, and there are quite a few of them who have plots here. They're extremely well versed in organic gardening here, and I highly recommend taking the course here if possible! A special shout out to Les, Susan, and all the Master Gardeners for sharing their knowledge with a semi-noob! It's a very interesting place, located close to the Santa Monica Airport and the Bundy Campus of Santa Monica College. I drove around this neighborhod for years (work, school, etc.) and never knew it existed! I enjoyed the class and how Ocean View Farms functioned as an open air, living classroom for the topics at hand. The plots are very diverse in character, reflecting their owners' view of organic gardening techniques. I understand it takes a while to get a plot and I already have a garden, but I'd definitely recommend getting on their waitlist if exploring community gardening interests you!

I passed by this community garden when I was walking down Abbot Kinney. Luck was on my side when I…read moresaw two ladies tending to their respective gardens. Having two people inside meant that the gate was unlocked so with their permission I went inside. I walked around and saw so many flowering plants in many varieties and various colors. They all look so pretty. Each plot had their own unique characteristics. Others even have trellis, arbors, and furnitures. I could sit here all day surrounded by these beautiful flowers. Even though I loved this place so much I took off a star cuz I was hoping to see more vegetables in the garden. I only saw a few of them.

There are now 3 Community Gardens locations in SaMo: The…read moreoriginal Main Street location, with 65 plots, between Strand & Hollister. The Park Drive location, with 38 plots, between Santa Monica Blvd. & Broadway. The newest location and the smallest, Euclid park, with 10 plots, on Euclid between Broadway & Colorado. I already reviewed the Main Street location, and last weekend I discovered the Park Drive gardens on a perfect autumn day. It's divided into two sections, with a pocket park in the middle. The north section was open, so I walked through with my camera. A couple with a child were in the process of picking some of their veggies, the autumn harvest. They offered me, a stranger, one of their beautiful eggplants! How sweet, made my day. Although the Main Street gardens are almost twice the size of Park Drive, I kinda liked Park Drive even better. The pocket park contains big shade trees, and the space defines the term "urban oasis". My parents always had a garden, In Chicago, when I was a kid. We grew veggies (tomatoes, cukes, Spanish onions), flowers (hollyhocks and zinnias), and strawberries. I loved working in the garden, which was in a community garden space, with my Dad, & eating strawberries off the vine. Gardening is a very good thing for a kid, and I'm so happy even the White House has a garden now, thanks to our First Lady's wisdom. A garden is a place of serenity, discovery, and joy.

Super cute area, my kids had a blast checking out and identifying all the plants as well as seeing…read moreall the butterflies! Thank you!

I read the reviews about this place expecting a lavish garden of fruits and vegetables and I…read morecouldn't be more wrong. It looked like it had been abandoned and very neglected sadly. Their produce was in a big refrigerator.

this is great fun especially with kids. the garden is very well maintained by a great group of…read morevolunteers.