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Sustainability May 9, 2019
Get dirty!
So imagine you go to the grocery store, because you really need some strawberries for dinner cocktails. (You know your priorities.) But then you get to the store, and the strawberries are literally seven dollars. You leave strawberry-less. You drink a sad cocktail that night. Your night is ruined.
Then you realize that your options for fresh produce aren’t limited to the grocery store.
Los Angeles is a city sprawling with traffic, beaches, hiking trails, amazing food and community gardens. As a city that strives towards sustainability, Los Angeles provides many cheap spaces to grow food so you can afford fresh produce. No more sad cocktails!
There are plenty of community garden options available, so whatever the neighborhood, you’ll easily find a place for you. Here are the best community gardens in Los Angeles based on your area.
Downtown LA might not seem like plant central, but there are actually more gardens than you might expect. Besides, who wants to be trapped in a building all day? Check out these locations and get your grow on!
Spring Street Community Garden is one of the main gardening spots of the downtown LA area. Located at 220 S Spring St, it features over 35 raised beds, a compost section and picnic tables. It also advocates for the homeless and low-income residents of DTLA.
Although technically not in the heart of the city, Erika J. Glazer Community Garden is a great resource for USC students and others who live near downtown. Located at 2632 Raymond Ave, it spans to about 5,000 square feet, making it one of the largest community gardens in the area. Additionally, there are over thirty-five plots in the garden and about twenty-four families regularly grow their own food and plants there.
While the area is known for shopping and amazing beach views, Santa Monica is also home to some awesome gardening locations.
The Santa Monica community garden is nestled near the coast (Main Street) and is host to a wide variety of produce and flowers. Locals can find anything from fruits and vegetables to sunflowers and roses.
You can find this gem at 2224 Main Street, but you can also find two other branches on Park Drive and Euclid Park. Combined, all of the community gardens encompass over 117 plots for residential use.
Apart from the community gardens already mentioned, residents of Santa Monica can also travel to Ocean View Farms (OVF), a location that operates on six acres of land. Although technically residing in Mar Vista, the community garden resides near the Santa Monica airport at the intersection of Rose Avenue and Centinela.
OVF also works towards helping Los Angeles with composting efforts. Overall, the composting program helps the city save about $11,000 annually.
Wattles Farm is located at 1714 N Curson Ave in the West Hollywood area. People who are “so Hollywood” can still get their hands dirty!
The farm has a rich history. It originates as four gardens on the historic Wattles mansion, famously opened to the public by Mr. Wattles himself. The area transformed into a community garden in 1975, and the Wattles Farm and Neighborhood Gardeners, Inc. became an official non-profit in 1978. Since then the garden has accumulated over 300 members and 172 plots.
If the backstory wasn’t enough to convince you, do it for the ‘Gram. You’ll look great against those florals.
FOUNTAIN COMMUNITY GARDENS
Fountain Community Gardens strives to provide a “safe green space to… [their] members through inclusion of all ethnic and economic backgrounds.” With over 100 volunteers and 65 garden plots, their message has certainly reached a lot of people!
At 5620 Fountain Ave, the entire garden is adjacent to the 101, so don’t worry about difficult directions. Check out their Facebook page for photos and upcoming events.
This produce spot was originally a drug house. No, that’s not a typo.
Locals transformed the two blocks of land into what is now the Glassell Park community garden, and the area has been thriving ever since. Many members find hope and inspiration in the garden’s evolution.
Check out their Facebook page, and if you’re in the Glendale area, stop by the northern outskirts of LA at 3304 Drew St.
Palmer Park
Palmer Park reopened in 2017 with upgrades to their pool, exercise equipment and community garden. Now with 50 plots, it can grow more produce and more people can stop by! Check out these pictures to see what the garden’s like.
Clearly, LA is greener than we all give it credit for. Use these spots as a nice place to walk or a way to get all your salad and strawberry cocktail ingredients. If you’re looking for even more fruits and vegetables to peruse, you can check out a full list of community gardens in LA here.
Happy gardening!
