WASHINGTON — When Nancy Reid joined the Newark Street Community Garden in the fall of 2009, her designated plot of land had previously been used as an Asian vegetable garden. There were different kinds of onions growing from the ground and the layout of the garden itself made it impossible for Reid to plant the colorful flower garden she had envisioned.
She had only just arrived at the 4-acre community garden, less than a mile away from the National Cathedral in the city, but for Reid, a lot of work needed to be done from Day One.
“One thing about gardening is that it evolves and changes all the time,” Reid said. “When I first got to this space, nothing was going to be able to grow. At the very beginning, I had to do a lot of infrastructure.”
After five years of hard work and dedication, Reid’s garden has evolved into a perfectly organized arrangement of plants and flowers of all different colors, shapes and sizes — a far cry from what it was when she first acquired the plot of land in 2009. Some are green, some are blue, some are pink and some are purple, but all are meticulously arranged in specific parts of the 15 x 15 plot in order to make the colors and contrast stand out and make the garden look its best.
“One of my favorite things about this is gardening with colors,” Reid said. “I wanted to have my garden be purple, blue and pink while making sure green didn’t take over. But you not only want different colors, you also want different shapes.”
Reid’s garden now consists of many different plants, including yarrows, Boston sage, blanket flowers and autumn joy. Although Reid’s garden has become one of the many highlights of the 200-plot community garden, its colorful beauty took years of hard work to create and takes an equal amount of hard work to maintain.
Reid visits the garden two to three times a week, usually in the evenings after work to avoid the scorching daytime heat that can make gardening impossible. On occasion, Reid visits Rock Creek Park to dig for large rocks that she uses to surround the center piece of the garden.
Since some parts of her garden are elevated, Reid is often forced to transfer plants to other areas of her plot to ensure that each plant receives the proper amount of water.
“In the fall, I’m going to dig up one of the yarrows and put it on the other side because it’s too wet where it is now,” Reid said. “The garden evolves, and you find out what’s good, what isn’t good and, most importantly, what you like. I probably move things around more than other people because I’m an interior decorator — I’m always moving furniture around, too.”
Fortunately for Reid, her garden does not face some of the issues that other members of the community garden deal with on a daily basis.
According to Reid, under-watering is usually not an issue because the plants in her garden are drought-tolerant and are, therefore, more resistant to the unpredictable weather in the region. The community garden is also prone to visits from hungry deer that eat plants and vegetables growing on the land. Although a metal fence meant to keep out the deer surrounds each plot, Reid’s garden is further protected, she said, because the deer simply would not like what grows in the garden.
Reid is one of roughly 190 people of all ages who take advantage of the unique opportunity that the Newark Street Community Garden offers for hopeful-gardeners living in the urban Washington region.
Anybody who lives in the District can apply to join the garden, which was founded in 1974, but there is a waiting list that often lasts as long as two years. Susan Akman, former president and board member of the community garden, said gardening is becoming more popular because of growing environmental awareness in the region, among other reasons.
“We have so many applicants now, it’s not even funny,” Akman said. “They’re excited; they bring their families. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s a beautiful community.”
In order to maintain the beauty of the garden, Reid and the other gardeners must follow strict rules and procedures when maintaining their plot of land. Akman said gardeners are not allowed to use chemical sprays, plant vines on fences, use invasive plants outside of pots and must keep their plots chipped and weeded.
For some, the hard work required to maintain their garden is too much to handle. On average, there is a turnover of 25 to 30 plots each year — temporary vacancies that are quickly filled by those on the ever-growing waiting list.
“It’s very hard work,” Akman said. “It’s not easy. Some people just abandon it in the middle of the year.”
Reid, however, has turned what was once a small plot of soil containing remnants of onions and roots into an awe-inspiring display of color and nature that is rarely found in a large city like Washington. For Reid, gardening is not only something she greatly enjoys, but also something that offers her a unique opportunity that most city-dwellers rarely get to experience.
“I wanted to recreate a backyard for myself since I’m living in a condo,” Reid said. “Someday, if I ever have my own backyard, I can dig up this garden and use it there. We’ll see.”