Organizing Efforts Help Gardens Crop Up

By Sally Swope

Shawn Jones and Jim Parraguirre have one of the new sidewalk gardens on Hancock Street that shows off their chocolate brown house. The project came about when one of their neighbors, Ollie Graves, mentioned he wanted to have a sidewalk garden in front of his home across the street.

The project took off when Jones and Parraguirre met with the Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) which gave them a list of neighbors to contact. About 40 people agreed the “greenness” would nourish them as they strolled an area bounded by Hancock, 18th, 19th, Noe, and Sanchez streets.

“I learned what native plants grow well with very little water on the shady side of the street,” Shawn said. “ The total cost for each home was about $900 to cover the FUF’s help in coordinating the project, the permitting, and removing the concrete on the sidewalk.”

“Finally, there was a big planting,” said Jim. “FUF gave us seeds and the dirt.”
Besides the recommended plants, Jones and Parraguirre also purchased plants at Flora Grubb Nursery, which specializes in native low-water tolerant plants. Some gardeners shared plants while others moved more mature plants from their backyard. Many planted various types of grass though one planted yellow tulips.

“The best part was meeting our neighbors,” said Ollie. “We had a barbecue afterward, and hung out drinking beer on the warm day. More than 15 gardens now stretch down the sunny side of Hancock. Several people will be in the next planting.”

Those interested in starting a sidewalk garden should contact FUF’s community outreach coordinator, Greg Harrell-Edge, at greg@fuf.net or 415.561.6890.

Copyright 2009 Castro Courier