Community Gardens

"A community garden (the term favored in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people"

Gardens are beautiful and can be very useful if they are well taken care of. Community Gardens specifically can be very useful to a larger number of people than just one family. Most such gardens are created so that the community has somewhere other than the supermarket to get their grown vegetables and fruits. However, the gardens dont have to be about growing food, it can just be about the beauty of nature in a place that is accessible to a lot of people who want to enjoy it. Community Gardens can be huge, but they dont have to be. It could be just a small group of friends that get together to take care of a small patch of land, creating a little oasis of beauty in a place that might not have much greenery. Everything starts out small any way doesnt it?

It is great for people to start up gardens that everyone can visit and share, not only for the beauty and food they may provide, but also as a way for the community to bond and get to know one another. I personally find it amazing that when my parents were kids, they knew all of their neighbors, from the ones right next door to the ones down the street. They knew each other because they actually went outside and played, but now a days, that doesnt happen as much any more. It seems like everything is too dangerous or there is some electronic calling your name. I honestly only know the names of my neighbors and that in itself seems to be special. If every neighbor hood/community had a garden to go to and work on together, people would come out of their houses, spend a little time in the sun and get to know one another. 

The gardens are even great for the environment! The more things we plant, the better the air is thanks to photosynthesis. The gardens can add a bit of natural beauty to a neighborhood or just a street with a few flowers and perhaps a tree or two. They help provide FRESH food for a certain amount of people if veggies and fruits are planted, much better than anything you could get at your local Wal Mart (even if they dont look quite the same). The food is natural and loved as it is growing and not shoved through an assembly line or fed chemicals. You know what? They even help give people a place to go get some natural exercise as well. I personally have worked in a community garden this past semester and it is very satisfying to go and help out, meet new people and see the fruits (literally or figuratively) of your labor after a few hours of hard work. So get out there and join in on the fun! Find or start up a local garden and feel the joy of watching a little green thing grow and thrive with your help!