Winners!

On Wednesday, we got the call from the Garden King: our request to join the 65th/Woodlawn Community Garden was accepted! We were on the waitlist (we're out-of-neighborhood) but a plot freed up and we were offered a spot. I haven't been able to find any information on the gardens closer by, and I have friends at 65th/Woodlawn. The garden has a lot of amenities -- tool shed with lots of equipment, an irrigation system, an established compost system, a firepit, a sandbox, a picnic area with a barbeque, a fence and a gate. I'm told they will have a porta-potty shortly. And it has a Garden King who makes it all work. So, wow! It is really set up perfectly for a family like ours and it's only a few blocks from my office and Stella's new school.

After dance class and some Starbucksian fortification, we hustled on over to sign the agreement and learn about how the garden works. We decided to go ahead and get started, too -- turning over all the dirt, breaking and raking it, mixing in compost, and planting some paperwhite bulbs. David also put the finishing touch on -- stepping stones through the middle. It looks really great. The plot is 10' x 10' or so and although we could probably use 10 times the space, it's a good way to get started. We are starting strong, but as the season wears on we may not find we have the time to keep it up. But the irrigation system will really help with that (unlike my attempts to garden in the front lawn, a weekend trip during a hot spell won't kill my plants). The garden has an agreement with gleaners who will make sure food doesn't go to waste. So excited!