Cherryhill Neighbors: Grow Together, our mini urban garden project, debuted in late 2017. The son of one of our residents built the three portable redwood planter boxes for his Boy Scout Eagle project (saving our implementation team from having to design and build them ourselves). Each sturdy box was planted with a theme: 1) herbs, 2) allium (garlic and onions) and 3) leafy greens (spinach, chard, lettuces). The idea was to encourage neighbors to harvest produce from the boxes as desired and give them insights into how much produce may be grown within a small container. Additionally, the gardens were put in place to encourage community building when people stopped to read the signs, pick vegetables and herbs or chat with the current garden hosts. The mini garden containers are intended to be in rotating locations throughout the neighborhood; with hosting shifts assigned on quarterly or semi-annual basis.

The grant allowed Cherryhill residents to explore a novel idea: can you create a “neighborhood garden” in an area that does not specifically afford common areas? By making the gardens small and portable, we were able to get around the most pressing problem: lack of a permanent, dedicated space. By designing them to be shared endeavors (planting, watering, weeding, harvesting), we illustrate to the community that the gardens depend on them to thrive but when they do thrive, everyone benefits.

INTERESTED IN HOSTING A MOBILE GARDEN? Click here for details.