P-Patch Community Gardens

University District

Everyman's Garden

"Hey! We're gardening on gravel here!" "Sure we are. Last year this was a parking lot!" Fortunately, those voices have slipped into the past and the former parking lot has blossomed into a thriving community garden. For twenty years truckloads of rocks have disappeared, and even more truckloads of organic material have arrived. Heavy-duty composting has been the byword. They 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, and stop to smell the flowers. They take the time to pleasure in the gardeners' efforts. 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. It can be viewed from the interstate freeway; bus passengers delight in the wintertime messages of sawdust on the bare soil: "Peas on Earth", "Happy Holidays", or "I Love My P-Patch". The University District P-Patch reaches out to all of Seattle.