Eachmonth,JustFoodwillbevisitinganurbangardenintheOttawaarea.InSeptember,wetouredtheLexingtonGreenLifegardensat507Riverdaleavenue.

ThefirsttimeyouenterthegroundsoftheLexingtonApartmentsinOldOttawaSouth,youcan'thelpbutbecharmedbythelushvegetableplotneartheparkinglot.Itturnsout,though,thatthatgardenisonlythetipoftheiceberg.Behindthebuilding,threerowsofraisedbedslinetheroadthatcutsthroughtheneatlymanicuredlawns.Aprofusionofheavilyladenvegetableplants—tomatoes,peppers,Brusselssprouts,corn,eggplants,broccoli,andmore—fillthesturdywoodenframes.Pottedherbsandgreensbalanceontheedgesofsomeofthem.Nospaceiswasted.

Afewyearsago,thesmallplotinthefrontofthebuildingwastheonlyoptionforthemanytenantswhowantedtogarden.Duringdiscussionswiththelandlord,OttawaCommunityHousing,thetenantsletitbeknownthatadditionalgardeningspacewasatoppriority.In2013,thebuildingoperatorpurchasedthewoodforthreeraisedbeds.AndsoLexingtonGreenLifegardenwasborn!

Asthegardenflourished,moreindividualsbecameinterestedinthisendeavour,anditsorganizersdeterminedthattheyneededadditionalplots.TheysubmittedanapplicationtotheCommunityGardenDevelopmentFund.Theyweresuccessful,andfournewgardenbedswereaddedin2015,andtwelvemorein2017,bringing

thecurrenttotalto19,someofwhicharesharedinordertomeettheconstantdemand.

Althoughthegoalofthegardenswastoproducehealthyandfreshproduce,moreimportantly,ithasfosteredrelationships.“Itbroughtpeopletogether,”saidLineCarriere,theonsitecommunitygardeninglead.Whilethefirstbedswerebeingbuilt,tenantsandstaffcontributedhowevertheycould—suchasbybringingrefreshmentstotheworkers—andintheprocess,theygottoknoweachother.Aswithmanymulti-unitcomplexes,therehadbeenoccasionalconflicts,aswellassomemembersofthecommunitywhominimizedtheirinteractionswiththeirneighbours.Now,thereisacommonpurposeandprideinthissharedgoal.Non-gardenersandneighbourstaketimetostopbyandadmirethegardens.Wewitnessedthisfirsthandonthedaywetouredthegardens,whenacouplewanderedoffthepathwaytomarvelatthemassivetomatoplants.

Thegardenersthemselvesspanallwalksoflife.Youngandoldgardenersfrommanyculturesandcountriesoforiginbenefitfromopportunitiestodevelopnewskills,andthenpassontheirinsightstoothers.Newgardenersreceiveadviceandencouragement;childrendelightingrowingplants.Gardeningmakespeoplehappy;it’sgoodfortheirmentalhealth.

Eachsummer,LexingtonApartmentshostsaBBQ,andgardenersareinvitedtosharetheirharvests.StartinginOctober,theywillhostmonthlyeventsinwhichgardenerswillsharefood,tips,andadvice—andprideintheircommunityandwhatithasdeveloped.

CatherineMacDiarmid,whoworksasaCommunityDeveloperwithOttawaCommunityHousing,saysthatthereasonsthattheLexingtonGreenLifegardenshavebeensosuccessfularemulti-fold.They’reeasilyaccessibletopeoplewithmobilityissueswhomighthavedifficultytravellingtogardensoffsite.They’resupportedbyLine,theonsitegardeninglead,andthesurroundingcommunity.Mostofall,though,theyaresuccessfulbecausetheyaresomethingthatthecommunitywanted,andworkshardtogethertomaintain.Acommunitygardenisonlyasgoodasitscommunity.IfyoulookattheLexingtonGreenLifegardens,youcan’thelpbutseehowgreatitscommunityis.