The Good, the bad and the beauty in Community Gardening

Wow, I want to give a shout out to Amy P, my co-blogger and give her praise for her other blog, http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/. I asked her about it the other day and she said, "I wanted to make the blog so that people would know how to start a garden and learn about the entire process. I want for the process to be transparent." On her blog it also says, "My goal with the blog: to show the good, the bad, and the beautiful about my experience with starting and participating in a community garden." I think the blog (along with this one of course!) are invaluable. I love the brochure!
When you are creating a community garden....It is OH SO MUCH MORE THAN GARDENING! I have never seen community gardening as primarily growing plants and flowers. It is about planning and working within a group of other people. I believe it is a microcosm of our family life, community and world. There have been times that I have said, "I hate community gardening." The same issues that are a part of our larger society play out in the garden too: Not knowing how to be part of a team, controlling others, perfectionism, lack of delegation, not knowing how to trust others, sexism, racism, classism...all of the ism's, fear of failure, over committing....the list goes on. I have considered not having it be a part of my life a few times over the years, but something always brings me back. Connection with people in my neighborhood. Working with a raw piece of urban land. Planning a project from nothing and watching it grow...with our without me or all of us, community gardens once sustainable have a life of their own. They become what we all put into them and there are moments that have been powerful, trans formative and insightful...not only about myself, but nature, people in groups, our city and how we all connect. It has truly been beautiful. You can't get there without planning, amending the soil, writing grants, making a plan for water...creating a sustainable foundation for the garden to flourish into something magical.
Amy is very organized and that is something I truly admire about her. Her blog addresses the planning, community resources, her feelings about not getting a grant and all of the steps to make your garden sustainable. These aspects are often over looked and many gardens die, due to lack of sustainability.
Community Gardening is not simple. It requires a great deal of planning, but even more than that, it requires that you trust others and become part of a larger whole.