Since Spring has arrived, gardeners are busy planting and toiling in the soil at SLO's community…read moregardens to grow produce & flowers, and other ornamental plants. In June 2010, three Rotary Clubs of SLO unveiled the Rotary Community Garden at Meadow Park. This community garden contains 40 plots. It is located at the west end of Meadow Park with the nearest access on South Street.  There are now five community gardens sites with over 100 plots available to city residents for a nominal annual fee. Residents can lease garden plots on a first-come, first-served basis. If one is interested in more information, contact the City of SLO Community Gardens Coordinator. Enjoy a stroll through the Rotary Community Garden. Please do not pick anything as plots are maintained by individual gardeners.

I not quite sure how one goes about to get a plot for gardening here, but it seems like a really…read morenice space for a green thumb enthusiast. I overheard someone talking bout this place and constantly pass it getting in the freeway. It a community garden where people have plots for gardening and such. There's an also a little park area, rose garden and cactus garden. Parking is available inside a lot, closed at a certain time. As well as street parking. There's two sections across the street from each other. We popped in to have a wander and see what it was all about. It's a cute little park area where it's pretty and quaint. Nice place for a stroll. People have spots for gardens so respect and not trespass. Your able to walk along the path and check each plot out but he respectful and not pick anything. It's a little oasis out of the city even though you're right in it. It's just along the 101 freeway but you don't notice it with all the trees covering it. The rose garden is simple yet a good variety of plants. As well as the cactus garden towards the back. It's a cute place to have a wander and even a plot.

It's been over 2 years since I started going to the Sepulveda Garden Center. I had just relocated…read moreto Ventura County from the OC. My new place didn't have space for all my potted plants, so I was desperately trying to find a place that I could store them at. I noticed this community garden while driving past the 405 freeway near the Hayvenhurst exit. Its right near the Tapias Brothers Farm. I took a look around the place. The garden center is divided into two sections by Magnolia. The one on the north end beside the freeway is the original and much larger of the two. I thought my odds of saving my plants had increased. I met Pat, the Manager of the place. Really nice lady and a fountain of information on plants that are grown in the area. Unfortunately, there was a long waiting list. I was like number 100 or so on the waiting list. I still put in my name out of desperation. It wasn't until a year later that Pat called me telling me my name had come up on the list. By then, I was forced to give away most of plants - it was heartbreaking. At that time, I was relocating to North Hollywood, so the Garden Center was going to be a lot closer to where I lived. I really missed my plants and wanted to start gardening again, so I said why not. The cost was $25 per plot per year. The cost to rototil was $5, which was an option I chose to save me time preparing the soil. Pat will start you at one plot 1st. But if you show you are a responsible steward, she will offer you up to 2 more plots. I got lucky and all my 3 plots are adjoining. It's really a great bargain, because you can use as much water as you want and they offer free use of garden tools and mulch. To be considered a responsible gardener and neighbor, you must weed regularly and take care of your plants. Warning: this is a lot harder than it sounds, especially in the hot summer months when the weeds grow like crazy. You must be in decent shape to keep of with the rigors of up keeping a garden. If you leave your garden plot untended, you'll eventually receive a warning letter from Pat. I actually wish she were more draconian with the rules, because some neighbors just ignore there plots, resulting in beds full of weeds that spread seeds (and baby weeds) to neighboring plots. You can grow a wide variety of vegetables, dwarf fruit trees and flowering plants. Tomatoes, artichokes, cantaloupes, eggplant, peppers, pumpkin, beans, cucumbers, strawberries, etc. do very well. I plant some vegetables, but my main focus is flowering plants. While it's not a true park, families will have get togethers here. They will tend to their plots first, and then have a picnic at the shaded tables and seats at the center of the garden. Besides the large waiting list, the downside to having a plot is that once in awhile, there are thieves who will steal your fruits or veggies or even little statues and such that you use to decorate your plot with. So don't put any item you value too much in your plot, and regularly check up on it. The thieves are less likely to disturb the plots that are well maintained. Some gardeners put up tall fences, but it ends up making the place look like a prison. And many of these gardeners end up putting more effort into their fences and gates, than they do their actual garden. Nothing is sadder than looking at a plot that is fenced in and filled with weeds. The other downside is the garden center closes by 3 PM. They open at 7 AM, so best time is to come early. If you like to party on weekend nights, the garden center's operating hours might not be a good fit for you. I've recently moved to West LA, but still make the trek up to Encino most Saturday mornings to tend to my plots. Even though the 405 freeway is right beside the garden center, I often feel like I have been transported to someplace more rural. It's a nice reminder that Los Angeles was once an agricultural city. This is my antidote to the hustle and bustle of city life.

An amazing little community garden, sponsored by PG&E, that has to be a first for Bakersfield (as…read morefar as I know). Started by Community Garden Manager, Amber Beeson, the garden is a means for community members (who pay an annual fee and volunteer a minimum of two hours per month in the garden) to get together and do something positive for a community. Volunteers will also get access to fresh fruit and produce - win! Once an empty lot that was littered with trash and home to vagrants, this garden is absolutely gorgeous and includes loads of art and beautiful designs all from local volunteers. If you choose not to volunteer you can always donate money per box of fresh fruit and veggies, but priority will always go to volunteers. Family passes (last I checked) were $120 per year for an "All Access Pass" for families. This allows all family members to participate in events and classes for free. Some of these include gardening, nutrition, physical-fitness, art, movie nights, children's classes and more. This is a great little oasis in the heart of Bakersfied's Oleander area.

Great place to meet others and work in the garden. Have learned a lot about gardening.read more

From the owner: We welcome all gardening skill levels to join us. This is a place where we come together and share…read moreour gardening experiences, but most importantly we want to get to know each other and grow together. Adult supervised kids may join. We have workshops and we are always looking for new volunteer to join. Prayer requests are welcomed!

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

Being in Thousand Oaks with a mom and a little kid this week, we seek out public parks to spend…read moresome time in the afternoon to walk around, get some fresh air, people watch other kids and ground to the Earth. The Conejo Creek Park area contains an equestrian park, a dog park, a community garden and also Waverly Park. Now I am not certain how a local with more knowledge of the streets would find the proper parking lot for this park, but we drove to the dog park (because it was the paved entrance we found off of E. Avenida De Las Flores and walked West through the dirt lot of the community garden and through the fence to Waverly Park. In hindsight, you could park in community garden lot and walk through the fence there and same yourself a few minutes of walking. This park is small and partially on a hill overlooking a baseball field, but is charming, quaint and so welcoming. At 5:15pm when we arrived, there was nobody there and that was surprising to me because it is a lovely park and the weather was nice. This park is either relatively new or recently renovated, because it has exercise equipment that looks barely used, swings that look barely used and many sturdy park benches throughout. There is a paved path that would take you around the entire little park if grass is not your thing to walk on or are pushing a stroller. It has a public restroom, play equipment, dog relief station and trash cans. We sat on the hill and watched the baseball game occurring in the distance. The mountains and hills in the distance are a beautiful backdrop to see. It was a lovely time in the charming park.

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!