In the years of touring homes for salewith my buyer-clients inthe Ballantynearea of Charlotte, NC, I have never seen a community garden anywhere.I knew that Ballantyne finally had2Farmers Marketswhich opened this year-Meeting Street Market is open on Tuesdays 4pm til dark and The Farmers Market at The Villages of Robinson Farms on Wednesdays from noon til 6pm. After recently visitinga Community Garden located in the Sheffield Park community, called the Winterfield Community Garden, it made me wonder if there was such a place in Ballantyne.
Tomatoes Ripening in the Sun!
The Winterfield Community Garden is a hidden gem across from Winterfield Elementary School, in east Charlotte. It is part of Mecklenburg County’s Parks and Recreation programto support communities who want to grow their own gardens.For a fee ranging from $15 – $20 per year, you will be given a small plot of land, free water and some compost to plant your garden. What a deal!
Idiscovered the Winterfield Sheffield Community Garden by chance as I was photographing my newest listingat 1101 Tarrington Ave. Luckily, Imet one of the women who volunteers at the garden. She allowed me to photograph the garden and explained to me how it worked. Individuals who usually live in the community can sign up for a year to receive a small plot in the garden.They are responsible for planting and caring for their plot. The gardens were bursting with a cornucopia of produce: cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, peppers, okraand even broccoli! My guide also explained that she volunteered with the school children who planted flowers, including beautiful, huge sunflowers; and, also made these cool concrete-cast stepping stones adorned with marbles and designs!. What a wonderful experience for children who live in a city!
Welcoming Sunflowers!
The big news is that this garden was just given approval to add several more plots. Mecklenburg Park and Rec will till the ground and expand the fencing to include the new plots available. The surrounding neighborhood residents are given first priority to rent one of these plots; but, they are available to any Mecklenberg County residents. What a great way to meet your neighbors and build your community!
This buzzer is hoping this blog might “planta seed” in someone’s mind to perhaps start a community garden in Ballantyne. Any green thumbs out there??
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