Bartlett Park Community Garden is a unique garden.
It is self sufficient. We have our own well.
We have our own solar power.
I think we are the only garden in the city,
that actually has solar power.
We are very proud of that!
Its in a beautiful location in the middle of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Our mission is to keep this garden alive,
keep it flourishing and provide for the community.
We provide the community with fresh vegetables,
fruits,
eggs and herbs.
The community garden was founded in 2008.
A few people purchased land
and started clearing it and developing it.
It has been flourishing ever since.
People are still interested, things are happening good for the garden.
Thank goodness for them, putting this here.
I really think this was the first garden in this community.
I think it is a landmark here!
When I came in about over 10 years ago,
I was riding by on 9th Street S and
I looked over and I saw all the greenery.
I am like, " Wow, there is a garden!"
I stopped and have been here ever since!
When I moved to the city about 24 years ago,
I had a small garden in my yard,
but when I saw the opportunity
that I could come out here and garden
that really opened up!
My passion just said, "Let's do it!"
I am doing it and I am going to continue doing it.
I am out here almost every day.
Even on Sundays, I come by for a little while to check it.
I want it to flourish, I want it to grow.
I want people in the community to come and enjoy this garden.
We want people here all the time!
Anytime they want to come, we want them here!
It feels like you are in the country, when you step into this garden!
It takes you back and being with nature,
it feels really good out here.
This garden means a lot to me!
My heart is in Bartlett Park Community Garden.
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This is a quarter acre space.
We have a food forest growing around the garden on the outside.
We want our neighbours to come back and pick
the fruit, the vegetables, the herbs
whatever is ready to harvest
we want them to have it.
Our mango tree is flourishing!
Its only been here about 5 years and is filled with mangoes.
Today, I think Ms Hayes came out
and she picked up about 25 mangoes from there
and they are delicious!
Out front, we have a community table
where we put fruits and vegetables
and clothing and all kinds of houseware is there.
We also have a Seed library right there
where people can buy and get seeds
and they can also share seeds with us.
We also have a Book library out there.
Every body is welcome to the books!
The space inside, we not only have in ground but we have beds.
We have different beds in here.
We grow peppers and tomatoes and onions and sweet potatoes,
and greens. We have all kinds of greens turnips, mustards,
collards
kale
cabbages
and arugula, it grows wild here!
And another thing we have is a beautiful sunflowers that grow here
We have sunflower that grow here every year for the past 5 years.
The seeds have spread, they grow all over the garden.
The wild parrots come in and eat the seeds
every morning at about 7:30 in the morning, they are here!
They are so beautiful along with the sunflowers.
Another aspect of the garden we have is the nursery.
We have a small nursery here that we bring plants
and people donate plants
and we grow our own from seeds.
When we have events here,
that is one of the things also, we like to give them a plant.
Give them something to take back home.
Also, have our chickens back there, which we have 39 chickens.
"Yes, I did say 39 chickens!"
We love those chickens, those chickens provide eggs for us.
Actually, it is a comfort to have chickens in the garden.
People love to come in to see them, watch them, hold them.
The community loves having this garden here
and our very appreciative of it.
We just want everybody in here, especially children!
I want them to be educated about gardening
and know how to plant, and know where their food comes from,
not of the shelves of a store.
I want them to see that it is planted
in the ground and we have to care for it.
You have to harvest it.
You have to maintain it.
It does not just grow. You got to take care of it.
My mom is 85 years old and she loves this garden.
She will come by here and sit.
She will sit down here with the volunteers.
They will sit in the garden, they talk, they get the vegetables.
Go back home and cook and come back again
and talk about what they cooked and how it tasted.
They said, "vegetables from this garden is so good!"
They can not describe it. It is not like what you buy in store.
What you put into your body
is healthy food from Bartlett Park Community Garden.
Everything is healthy!
You dont have to worry about not eating healthy food.
That is what Bartlett Park is about.
Eating healthy !
One of my sister always teases me about being on the farm.
It is my passion, it is what I love to do.
She knows that if she has to find me a lot of the time
she knows, she just comes by the garden because she knows I am here.
This is what I love doing and I want to do.
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