Cyndi Hubach on Watching Her Community Garden Grow

Cyndi Hubach’s thriving dahlias

By Cyndi Hubach (@cyndi_hubach)/October 3, 2013

We’ve really turned a corner since you came out to profile us the first time at the Elysian Valley Community Garden in Los Angeles. We’ve got 30 raised beds in now, serving about 45 people. We also added some common areas where we grew loads of zucchini, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, watermelons, and sweet tender corn.

Plus, we’ve got loads of fruit trees and berries. We’re getting our first raspberries of the season, and they’re sweet and delicious. We had a grand opening/spring celebration in March of this year which included an Easter Egg hunt, a little petting zoo, speeches by local dignitaries, the unveiling of an amazing sign by one of our local artists (former NBC correspondent Bill Lagattuta), and great food.

I enrolled in the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program and am now our resident Master Gardener, so am more of a help with some of our neophytes (though we have several gardeners who continue to teach me a thing or two, every time I see them).

We’re giving free yoga classes once a month, which are really beginning to catch on. We took part in the 8th Annual Frogtown Art Walk by hosting great art, music and food… and further establishing the garden as a vital community resource.  A group of us built a small stage for bands to play here that doubles as our “Official Club House” that can be used for picnics, barbecues and fundraisers.

Soon we are hosting a pop-up restaurant called “The Common Loon” and plan to have more food events in the coming year. Truly, the possibilities are endless!

Photos provided by Cyndi Hubach

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