A Tour :: Fenway Victory Gardens

For the past three years I have wanted to document our little city garden and garden neighbors in Fenway, but most days hauling my tools and babies down there seemed like enough work in itself. A couple of weeks ago Remi grabbed his scooter, rendering me one less child to push, so I grabbed my camera.

This is my favorite garden. This guy started gardening here 20 years ago, I believe, and now he does it professionally. People are always staring into his garden like a bunch of creeps. Uh em. 

This guy has dozens of pots in his garden, I love it. Collections always add charm don't they? It reminds me of the backyard in the tv show Parenthood, which is exactly what we want our one day backyard to look like.

We compost. 

Some people have legit farms.

There is also a community plot that is handicap accessible. Ours plot is right across the path and it's a really neat thing to see this space get used. Pushing a stroller through the city gives you a little insight on accessibility or lack thereof. When I have to do things like ask a stranger to help me carry my double stroller down a flight of stairs because the T elevator is out of order, it really frustrates me for people that that are not just inconvenienced, but stranded. If you live in Boston and notice something like this, the city has a twitter handle under @notifyboston. It's a productive way to complain! I use it often and they are fairly responsive. 

A couple of years ago a huge tree fell down along the main path, right into our plot. The lady that had our plot was older and did not want to garden in the full sun. So she moved plots and we became city gardeners. Sometimes Berkeley students play music on the stump, which is always cool. 

And here is our space. I am doing good on everything this year, EXCEPT grass. I let my oldest garden helper assist me with the weed and feed dispenser. He went a little heavy in some areas (i.e. full handfuls on the ground) so the grass burned and the weeds blossomed. 

And this guy lives here along with 4,000 of his relatives. He's no Smokey from Florida. All of the gardners are terrorized by these little bunnies who eat everything, including a little boxwood I planted next to the playhouse last year. I only had enough energy to fortress my vegetable box while other gardeners have protected their entire plot.

We come here mostly to play and escape the concrete. It's no show garden. My neighbor told me those vine-ish weeds are called Cape Cod Ivy and I love Cape Cod, so I decided to quit pulling them:)

The boys get dirty like little boys should.

 And I am constantly reminded that I need to stick to hearty plants.

Only three blocks away from our building, it's such a nice escape. 

Want to hear something hilarious...that new building on the right? A Target in the base! A TARGET!!? I am moving in less than two months and they are hanging drywall in a TARGET across the street from where I live. Oh, the irony.