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Loading...An Urban Inspiration: The Walnut Hill Community Farm
- Gardenista
- August 14, 2012
- 10:00 am
- 30 comments
For a long time, a weed-clogged vacant lot in the shadow of West Philadelphia’s elevated train tracks looked so much like the sad, forgotten sliver of land it was that it was practically a cliche. Close your eyes and see the chain link fence, the leftover building materials, the transit authority trucks. Now open them — all gone.
Today, there’s a pollinator garden on the quarter-acre site, and an edible hedgerow, and an orchard, and a platoon of volunteers–including a local Girl Scout troop–who tend raised beds and pitch in for seasonal cleanups. The Walnut Hill Community Farm, created and operated since 2010 by The Enterprise Center with substantial funding support from the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, replaced a vacant eyesore with a pocket park and working farm in Philadelphia’s Walnut Hill neighborhood. Says farm manager Allison Blansfield: “We are completely out in the open, right across the street from a grocery store and near the el, and at rush hour, you really hear all these city noises.”
Above: A small tool shed, viewed through the kale crop. In partnership with Urban Tree Connection, Walnut Hill Community Farm grows organic vegetables for 68 customers who receive weekly shares of the harvest during the growing season.
Above: Salad greens, including red sail lettuce; The Enterprise Center has a 30-year lease and pays $1 a year to rent the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority’s land.
Above: Bee balm and echinacea in the farm’s pollinator garden, designed to attract bees.
Above: The farm harvests water off the roof of the El station at 46th and Market streets; water is stored in two 1,100 gallon cisterns on the farm.
Above: Queen Anne’s Lace in the pollinator garden.
For more stories and inspiration on urban cultivation, visit Gardenista.
Related:
Bee-Friendly Landscaping
4 Ways to Support Pollinators
7 Reasons Why You Should Grow Your Own Food
Read more: Community Service, Do Good, Environment, Lawns & Gardens, Make a Difference, Nature, Outdoor Activities, Reduce, Recycle & Reuse, Remodelista, community gardening, Gardenista, Philadelphia, urban gardening, Walnut Hill Community Garden
Gardenista
Gardenista is a one-stop sourcebook for cultivated living, a guide to outdoor design and gardening. Helmed by former New York Times columnist Michelle Slatalla, Gardenista features inspiration, garden visits, and advice for all things outdoor living, from patios and peonies, to tables and terraces. Gardens matter, and Gardenista celebrates tomatoes on the fire escape as much as rolling acres of green.
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Beautiful,thanks for sharing
30 comments
+ add your ownThank you for sharing
Just beautiful.hope it catchs on.
Great.
Thank you for sharing.
The 2 words that stick out to me are: INSPIRATION and COMMUNITY. Most search for, want and need the same things. When hooked up with other like-minded folks amazing things can birth. Let's keep it coming.
The 2 words that stick out to me are: INSPIRATION and COMMUNITY. Most search for, want and need the same things. When hooked up with other like-minded folks amazing things can birth. Let's keep it coming.
Lovely pictures. I like community gardens. Good on them for making a positive difference.
Is anyone worried about fumes, gases, other nasty stuff in the air released by vehicles, etc??? Otherwise, a gorgeous garden in my home city.
Inspiring.
Lovely!
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