Program Director Laura Spidell reports from Patton Home in Portland, OR:
The community garden has been a wonderful amenity for our residents, many of whom have never had a garden of their own before. Twelve residents have assigned beds and are growing a bounty of tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, flowers, and more.
But the garden is special because it is growing more than just produce; it is growing community. The garden is an inviting space for residents to gather to talk, work on art projects, or just sit and relax. The Patton Home gardeners have built camaraderie with the gardeners at the adjacent City community garden, creating connections with the broader neighborhood.
The garden has sparked creative projects as well. Some gardeners created signs to decorate their plots or added colorful touches of whimsy. The weekly EngAGE art class decorated butterflies that were laminated and placed around the garden along with a hand-painted “Butterfly Garden” sign by resident artist Beverly Tuttle, who also made shrunken heads using fallen apples from the tree in the garden!
We are exploring ideas to decorate the plots in the Winter when the plants are dormant to keep the artistic harvest and community building thriving.
