University District

A Garden for Everyone: University District P-Patch Community Garden
(submitted by a University District P-Patch community gardener)

"Hey! We're gardening on gravel here!" "Sure we are. Last year this was a parking lot!" Those voices were heard in 1975. Fortunately, those voices have slipped into the past and the former parking lot has blossomed into a thriving community garden. For twenty five years truckloads of rocks have disappeared and even more truckloads of organic material have arrived. Heavy-duty composting has been the byword. The garden has grown into a showpiece: a place of great pride, fabulous food production, and enjoyment for all.

The University District P-Patch garden paths are the most popular shortcut in the district. In one of the city's most heavily traveled neighborhoods, many people walk through the garden to learn what's new in the vegetable kingdom, vicariously participate in nature's seasons, stop to smell the flowers and take stunning photos. The passersby appreciate the flowers and herbs spilling onto the sidewalks. They marvel at the dwarf apple trees in the parking strips. The garden reaches beyond the gardeners and the passersby. The University District P-Patch reaches out to all of Seattle.

Stop by and visit us sometime, as we journey forward for our next forty years of bountiful organic garden growth and community enhancement.