What makes a Community Garden

What makes a community garden?
Is it the number of members, is it the amount of harvest produced, the exotic plants, or a combination of all of the above? Or is it something undefined, unrelated, and intangible but an important ingredient in the success of our local garden.
The Graceville Community Garden will celebrate its milestone 10 year birthday towards the middle of the year, and there has been a lot of water under the bridge (both literally and figuratively) during that time. In 2011 the relatively newly established garden was completely destroyed (along with much of the area) by the force of the Brisbane River and the ensuing floods.
It would have been easy to give up and walk away but the hard core gardeners donned their boots and gloves, picked up their gardening tools and got stuck in. Dedicated gardeners never give up.
Time passed, members came and went, but the heart of the garden took root and flourished. I don’t mean the plants, but the ideal of what a community garden could mean for a community.
An inclusive place, a place of learning, of friendship, mentoring, fun, a helping hand, a place to share ideas, to agree and disagree, and importantly where gardeners of every age, ability and culture would be welcomed and respected.
Any gardener will tell you it isn’t just about planting, watering and harvesting. Gardening is so much more. It is about learning to adapt, to overcome obstacles, its about sharing and trying again when you get defeated by the scrub turkeys, the weather or the bugs. A community garden is about knowing that your successes are celebrated and your defeats are mourned collectively.
There is a place for everyone in our community garden. It gives a heart to our local community where everyone can participate in some way, small or large - from dropping off recyclables, depositing scraps into the community composting bins, to hardcore gardening or enjoying the bush tucker garden.
Over the years, the garden has hosted schools groups, visiting gardeners, overseas visitors and locals interested to see what we do. Call down and see us, join us for morning tea - Welcome to our community garden.