A gardener shows off their patriotism.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
One of the composting sites used by gardeners to make use of the biological material from weeds. "Cooking" a compost site refers to allowing the material in the site to decompose naturally so as to better release the potential nutrients in the plants when the compost is used as soil later.
Photo by Nadav Pais-Greenapple
A stand of coneflowers blooms along the wall of the four-acre site. Plants that spread easily, like coneflowers, are planted along the wall away from the garden plots to prevent these plants from overtaking other people's gardens.
Photo by Nadav-Pais Greenapple
Each gardener can decorate their plot however they deem appropriate. Some, like this gardener, choose to include decorative pieces such as bird baths.
Photo by Nadav Pais-Greenapple
Diversity in professions and backgrounds is common in the gardens. Akman said this plot is owned by an interior designer and color specialist.
Photo by Nadav Pais-Greenapple
Despite a heat wave that has plagued D.C. with more than three days of 90+ degree heat, these flowers are still as vibrant as ever, thanks to the Newark Street Community Garden's new watering system.
Photo by Nadav Pais-Greenapple
A group of daisies soaks up the sun. While the heat wave this past week has been uncomfortable for humans, these flowers are doing well.
Photo by Gia Scirrotto
A group of plots in the gardens. The community gardens have 190 members and 200 plots, with a waiting list more than 100 people long.
Photo by Gia Scirrotto
A closer look at one of the many garden plots seen in the previous photo.
Photo by Gia Scirrotto
Susan Akman points to one of the garden's new compost bins. These bins are more advanced than the open-air compost piles currently used by the gardens, and are designed to lower the time required for the compost to "cook." They are kept under lock and key to ensure their security.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
More hardy flowers brave the 90+ degree heat.
Photo by Gia Scirrotto
The rain garden that is on the property of the adjacent dog park has, much to Akman's chagrin, fallen into neglect and has become overgrown.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
This picnic table is in the children's garden. Children young as 2 years old come to plant things such as garlic and tomatoes.
Photo by Gia Scirrotto
This plot belongs to Elwood Gautier, a longtime member of the Newark Community Garden. At one time, Gautier used an unused plot to grow food to donate to food banks.
Photo by Nadav Pais-Greenapple
Susan Akman inspects the fruits of one patron's labor. Excess foodstuffs are commonly donated to food banks in the area.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
A group of flowers of varying colors comes into bloom in this neatly organized plot of the gardens.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
A plastic flamingo adorns the barrier of one patron's plot and looks out over the rest of the gardens. Ornaments like these are common, and serve to make each plot more unique and individualized.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
The adjacent children's playground provides space for kids to play in the shade of large metal flowers. The garden, playground and nearby dog park all share the same water supply.
Photo by Nadav Pais-Greenapple
Susan Akman walks down one of the garden's long woodchip paths, flanked by the patrons' plots.
Photo by Watson Dolhare
WASHINGTON —The Newark Street Community Garden, on the corner of 39th and Newark streets, is celebrating its 40th year. And despite the recent consecutive days of over 90-degree weather, gardeners are still out planting and maintaining their plots. Susan Akman, a senior gardener and former president of the board. loves to come to the gardens between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning.
“It is very peaceful,” Akman said. So much so that she recalled one woman’s immediate reaction to 9/11 was to come to the gardens, she said.
The garden may be a quiet, tranquil space, but a lot of hard work goes into the upkeep of the plots, Akman said. Many of the 190 gardeners come out on the second Saturday of every month in order to remove weeds and plant new crops. The garden community is extremely diverse.
“We have people from all over the world,” Akman said, with community members bringing unique crops and agricultural techniques from regions including Portugal, Lithuania and parts of Africa and Asia.
Gardeners have the freedom to make their plots as colorful and creative as they want, so long as none of their crops are invasive species. The work pays off. The garden is the “largest, and probably the oldest” of its kind in the area, Akman said.
To find out more about the Newark Street Community Gardens, visit their website here.
