Sharing Summer's Bounty

A neighbor dropped off these gorgeous Heirloom tomatoes. She grew them at the Eleanor Graham Community Garden, about two blocks from here.

This tiny garden area, situated on a small triangle of green space tucked between Hamline Avenue and Ayd Mill Road, consists of thirty-six garden plots for growing vegetables and flowers. There's a new composting system managed by the volunteers, a new watering system with eight taps, and an orchard of hardy fruit trees. This community garden is home to some fifty gardeners. If you live in the Midway area, I bet you've passed it dozens of times. I go right by it every time I head over to Super Target.

Gardeners pay $25 per season for a full plot (25 x 15 feet) and $15 for a half-plot. Besides tending their own plots, gardeners commit two hours a month to improving the garden’s common space.

I've actually been in this neighborhood long enough (38 years) to remember Eleanor Graham. She lived a few blocks from me, and was passionate about the neighborhood. She had some serious health problems and had to use a scooter chair. But that didn't stop her from checking on everyone and everything going on around her. I'm glad they named the community garden in her honor.