A Guide to: Local Gardening Projects

 

This piece was originally published in the April-July 2018 issue of our journalVol. 4, Issue 1: Green.


Looking to grow your green thumb a bit this spring and summer? Check out these local organizations you can connect with to learn about gardening alongside other community members.


ComeUnity Garden

218 East Main Street

Urban garden project growing food for ComeUnity Café. Volunteers can work in the garden planting seeds, harvesting vegetables, weeding, and tending to the urban lot, and receive a free meal from the café in exchange for their work.

 

LANA Community Gardens

West King Street

Community garden project filled with small raised beds for neighbors in the Lambuth area. 

 

Lane College Community Garden

545 Lane Avenue

Recently launched, 2.4-acre property filled with raised vegetable beds and ornamental flower borders. Supported by Keep Jackson Beautiful and UT Extension, the garden is a cooperative project with faculty, staff, and students working with the neighborhood.

 

Liberty Technology Magnet High School

3470 Ridgecrest Road Extension

High-tech educational program with intensive aquaponics and horticultural opportunities including vegetable production for school cafeterias in our area, and decorative plant sales for the community. 

 

RIFA Community Garden

133 Airways Boulevard

Urban garden project using volunteer work to provide food for the various RIFA ministries including the soup kitchen and thrift store. Keep Jackson Beautiful hosts seasonal garden work days.

 

Union University Community Garden

1050 Union University Drive

Student-run garden project planted and maintained by student volunteers across multiple disciplines. 

 

University of Memphis Lambuth Gardens

705 Lambuth Boulevard | Office of Student Services

Student garden project for community engagement and hands-on learning. 

 

West Tennessee AgResearch & Education Center

605 Airways Boulevard

Local and regional resource center for gardening and landscaping. The Madison County Master Gardeners program is an in-depth horticultural learning program centered around education, training, and community service. 


Cari Griffith Cari Griffith is a photographer by trade who loves storytelling of all kinds. After a couple of years away in Nashville, she and her husband Rob decided Jackson was calling them home, and they moved back to their beloved Lambuth area neighborhood. Cari's other loves include gardening, cooking, sharing meals with her friends, and trying to talk Rob into getting a dog.

Header image by Cari Griffith.