Dirty in the City: The health, environmental, and social benefits of urban gardens

Just because you live in a tower in the sky, or in a bustling urban neighbourhood, doesn’t mean you can’t go and pick your own salad for lunch, or grab a few herbs and some tomatoes for your chef’s special spaghetti sauce, right from your own dirt. Benefits of gardening are well documented – it creates healthy food, involves people in active recreation for all ages, engages people in their community, provides mental relaxation, and creates green spaces for everyone to enjoy. In urban areas there are three main ways to get your hands in the dirt: community gardens on city land, community gardens in your strata, and balcony gardening.

Indeed, space for urban gardening was written into the development plan for the Olympic Village neighbourhood in Vancouver over 20 years ago. That project became a laboratory for how urban agriculture can be designed into high-density developments. In particular, it required shared garden plots for the residential units that lack access to balconies or patios of at least 100 square feet. Some of the larger patios and balconies included planters to provide residents with the opportunity to grow food.

Cressey Development Group was at the forefront of this innovative approach to common spaces. “Our outdoor amenity spaces were created to provide residents with a chance to enjoy the outdoors and engage with one another,” says Jason Turcotte, Cressey’s Vice President of Development. “Many of our projects include gardening plots for residents to grow their own vegetable and herb gardens. These spaces aim to foster a strong sense of community and give residents with a chance to enjoy their Cressey homes.” Cressey’s Format project, being built on Kingsway in the Cedar Cottage neighbourhood, continues this Cressey tradition. The homes at Format all have access to a rooftop shared amenity space which features garden plots for residents to grow their own food or flowers.

Community Condo Gardens

“Urban gardening is a great way to create and support a thriving community,” says Panatch Group’s Eshleen Panatch. Their project called 50 Electronic Avenue has over one acre of greenspace, much of which is slated for garden plots for residents. “We have a dining area right next to the garden, so people can make and eat their home grown salad right there.” Provisions can be made to make sure the gardens are accessible for people of all ages and abilities, “the raised beds are good for seniors who may not want to be on their knees all day. They can sit at the edge.”

Moving into a condo that supports these kinds of gardens is not only good for your diet and social life, but it’s proven to be good for the value of your home. Explains Adera’s Vice President of Development, Eric Andreasen, “At Adera, we know that gardening is important to our home buyers. There has been a surge of urban gardening as more and more people are wanting to grow and care for their own herbs and vegetables.” Adds Eshleen, “Being able to show useable outdoor spaces really helps bring downsizers into the buildings.”

Providing residents space to grow food and connect with the earth and each other was a priority for Wesgroup when envisioning the urban plan for River District in South Vancouver. Offering community gardening spaces is part of Wesgroup’s commitment to providing River District’s residents the best urban living experience. Says Wesgroup’s Brad Jones, “The community plan for River District always prioritized useful green space, food gardens are an integral part of the plan.”

Adding Gardening Space to Your Building

If your strata doesn’t currently have community gardening plots, don’t fret, it’s still possible! If this interests you, bring it up at your next strata council meeting, and you may find your neighbours are just as eager as you are to get digging. Rooftops, balconies, lawns, side gardens can all be re-purposed as garden plots for residents. (Just make sure you check with an engineer before you start.) Lifespace Gardens is an excellent company with experience doing rooftops, side gardens and many types of beautiful, edible container gardens – many that are self-watering! www.lifespacegardens.com

How to get growing

Here are some rooftop and balcony growing tips

• Be conscious of your challenges: wind, exposure to sunlight, and accessibility to bees and other pollinators can be an issue on the top of a building and on some balconies

• If you are too high for bees (above the 20th floor) you can pollinate tomatoes, peppers and berries yourself with a soft paintbrush. Below 20 floors, plant a variety of flowers to attract bees and consider installing a mason bee habitat

• Greens like kale, salad, chard and spinach are good producers all year round, and do not need a lot of sunlight. Rhubarb is very tolerant of cold and comes back every year

• Pots of herbs brighten up your balcony as well as your meals. Perennials include sage, rosemary and thyme, and they produce beautiful flowers as well. Basil is great if you have lots of sun

• Cherry tomatoes are the best bet to consistently ripen in our climate, and different varieties can produce all summer

• Make the most of any walls by planting runner beans and peas. They add greenery and the pea shoots are also edible

Resources to Find Community Gardens

• Vancouver.ca/people-programs/community-garden-resources
• Farmfolkcityfolk.ca/resources
• Cityfarmer.org
• Northshorecommunitygardensociety.ca
• Copelycommunityorchard.com