Simply Living’s Sustainable Living & Garden Tour
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Some sites were private homes so their addresses are not listed here now. The sites with addresses are regularly holding programming, sales, classes or seeking volunteers.
* The Urban Church Farm (Maize Manor United Methodist Church) 3901 Maize Road, 43224 Faith & Farming for a Sustainable Future: Formed in 2022, the Urban Farm Church has already started a meditation garden, pollinator garden, growing food for Farmer’s market for community, creating a sustainable farm in the middle of the city. https://www.urbanfarmchurch.org/ and a recent interview https://simplyliving.org/community-update/interview-with-the-urban-farm-church/
At this site:
Tour Info and Simply Living, Care & Share Time Bank, Franklin Park Conservatory, Blueprint Columbus, Ecohouse Solar, ELECTRIFY Central Ohio, WGRN, Grange Insurance Audubon Center.
KC, Kevin Clark, and caterpillars. KC wants people to know that these amazing animals exist around them and the animals need native trees and plants for food. KC knows most people do not think of insects as animals but technically they are.
Music12 – 5: DJ feverdreamer5 – 6: Live music Phil Hart
Phil Hart is a singer/songwriter/storyteller who started writing in the early 70s when he lived down in the Hocking Hills. He is an old folky who was inspired by the likes of Tom Paxto, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Kate Wolf and many others. His lyrics are true stories carried by lovely melodies that touch your heart. He has been a gardener, beekeeper, cidermaker, and built his own passive solar home with a sod roof in 1978, striving to live simply for more than 50 years. https://www.pahart.com/#/
* Sweetfire Nursery 3407 Maize Rd 43224
Street parking is available on Maize Rd and other nearby streets. Please do not block driveways or bus stops. Bus / bicycles encouraged.
Cottage-industry nursery growing exotic peppers (plants, produce, powder), homegrown perennials, and houseplants. The Nursery makes use of several sustainable practices: work from home, neighborhood networking, hugelkultur, rainwater collection, upcycled materials, and beneficial insects. All plants are organically grown. Plants and products will be available for purchase during the tour.
* Sunny Glen Garden 3507 Sunny Glen Place 43224
The Sunny Glen Garden is an educational demonstration garden. Based on permaculture and regenerative agricultural methods, Dianne has converted an urban lawn into a perennial edible forest garden and wildlife habitat. The approximately 125 Ohio Native Plants contribute to the Prairie Garden, Woodland area, and Rain Garden areas around the front and back yard. Sunny Glen Garden is also the home for the project: Connecting Community Corridor for People, Pollinators, and the Planet, or CCC for PPP, which encourages, and assists with plants, for new gardeners to add native plants to their yards. Today Dianne will conduct 2 guided tours and a demonstration. See full descriptions down below. 1 pm – Edible Perennial Forest Garden Tour; 2:30 pm – Edible Native Forbs & Indigenous Uses Tour, 4 pm – Cording Demonstration (making rope from native plants). Sunny Glen Garden Native Plants will be available for purchase. Cash and other pay options available. Updated native plant list here: https://tinyurl.com/3x2dfpce features a lot of goldenrods, asters, and more, as these native plants are most needed for specialist pollinators that must have these host plants in order to survive and provide the needed fall pollen and nectar sources and habitat.
* Maize Garden
This household grows vegetables, fruits, and medicinal and culinary herbs, and also has a native plant area for pollinators and insects. Key learning opportunities: garlic production; elderberry; use of cover crops in small spaces; succession planning. The gardener has worked for many years in a Guatemalan community. On site will be hand-woven textiles available in exchange for a donation to its community school.
* Long Bone Yard
The owner describes the garden as an example of what a few years of lawn-to-garden conversion can look like, with a focus on planting for insect resources, beauty and change. Partially inspired by receiving native plants as a CCC for PPP participant, Long Bone Yard now features two pollinator gardens, some food production, shade gardens and experimental alley-planting. A major triumph last year was attracting tons of monarch ladies and her favorite wasp, the beautiful Scolia Dubia. Note the Garden name, Long Bone Yard, so no surprise the owner enjoys the evolving skeleton-based block-spanning community art project!
* Atwood Acre Urban Homestead
Mostly covered with grass when purchased in 2018, much of the available land has been smothered with cardboard, then planted with a variety of fruit trees, berry varieties, native shrubs and forbs and annual vegetable crops. A sign near the street educates passersby on the importance of planting natives to feed the native insects and birds and build biodiversity. (The yard is registered with Homegrown National Park.) Other features include chickens, honey bees, an extensive water collection system, a prairie patch, a rain garden, a newly-installed energy-efficient metal roof, geothermal heating/cooling system and a passive composting area, all supporting permaculture principles of sustainability. Three generations of one family reside here and their income supports the operation.
* The Hardy Center HOPE Garden 1746 E Lakeview Ave, 43224 On Street parking or in the lot across the street at The Hardy Center, 1743 E. Lakeview. Bathrooms available inside The Hardy Center The Garden of Hope project began in 2012 by converting an unusable 15,000-square-foot plot across the street from the Hardy Center into a viable, productive green space. During the spring of 2014, the entire area was redesigned and divided into individual plots to grow healthy fruits & vegetables. In spring 2018 the garden was converted to raised beds, and in 2019, a Franklin County Master Gardener Volunteer was brought in to help manage the garden. During the summer, edible plants of various types, from asparagus to zucchini are harvested by the children, their parents, and others from the community, providing an abundance of fresh, healthy fruits & vegetables to supplement their nutritional needs. Our goals for providing these projects are to guide young people as they work together to build food security in Columbus’ urban communities by creating an interest in growing and caring for a garden, promoting healthy eating habits, and encouraging a lifelong love for gardening and the possible pursuit of careers in agriculture and other food-related sciences.
* Pergola Garden 2222-2226 Cleveland Ave. 43211 Across the street from the Linden Branch Library, which is open until 6 pm. Parking and bathrooms available in the library. The ‘Pergola Garden’ was established in 2011 by the Linden Garden Association (LGA). In 2017 Fostering In the Community purchased the land and partnered with LGA for the Linden Greenspace and Our Community Garden Too. This Garden and greenspace is being rebuilt after major wind damage this year to the fence and landmark ‘yellow pergola’ and theft, which has resulted in less plants. This is a summer of many repairs including the welcoming work of the City for new sidewalks and crossing lights. Artwork in the garden is provided by Ms. Yvonne Jones.
* Butterfly Garden 1615 E. Hudson St., just east of Cleveland Ave, 43211
The Butterfly Pollinator Habitat Garden, established in 2012, is part of the Franklin County Land Bank. The Butterfly Garden has been victimized by theft and damage which included the “Little Free Library, a water tank, many flowers and trees and illegal dumping. Ms. Charissa Muhammad, Garden Coordinator LGA, has been working this year to restore the garden and hopes to re-install the ‘Little Free Library’ this year.
The non-profit, “Fostering In The Community” was started in 2011. It is sponsored by the “Foster” family and members that grew up and live in the Linden community. Yvonne Jones is the current Board President. The mission is to encourage scholastic achievement and community connections. Mr. Clarence Lumpkin was a founding Advisor and the original office was located at 11th & Cleveland Avenues. As part of the Linden Litter League and sponsors of the ‘Don’t Trash My Neighborhood’ campaign, Ms. Yvonne added beautification of properties along Cleveland Avenue to the mission and Ms. Charissa added safe garden spaces for youths of all ages to participate. Beautification areas have included public green spaces, fire stations, area schools and Rec Centers. Ms. Yvonne, who has been awarded Community Garden of the Year, by the Growing to Green program, says she may be an agency leader, but did not do the work alone, just had the vision. Fostering in the Community sponsors 3 gardens in the Linden area in collaboration with LGA and with the help of many community members and volunteers.
Article written in 2016 about Community Gardens and includes these gardens https://www.dispatch.com/story/lifestyle/home-garden/how-to/2016/07/12/community-gardens-sprout-around-columbus/24198660007/
Other Sites to Drive-by or Explore Later
BLUEPRINT COLUMBUS
Sanitary sewer overflows occur when rain water gets into the sewer and overwhelms it. Blueprint Columbus is a first-of-its-kind plan that other cities and countries are seeking to emulate. The traditional solutions just treat the symptoms – too much stormwater overwhelming the existing capacity of the sanitary sewer – by building larger pipes. Blueprint attacks the root of the problem by addressing the rain water entering the sewer system. Instead of building more infrastructure, Blueprint invests in rehabilitating and correcting existing infrastructure. In Linden projects have started, for example Melrose between Bremen and Dresden. Stop by their booth and get more information.
FIREMAN’S GARDEN 1567 Cleveland Ave. – enter and park at the rear of the garden from the alley accessible off 14th Ave.
Located next to the, now colorfully painted, old fire house, The Fireman’s Garden is a project of Fostering the Community since 2012. It was dedicated to the firefighters lost in 9-11. It will not be staffed today by a host, but is always open to visitors, and welcomes volunteers as a walk through garden. Hosting a variety of plants and flowers. Monarch Butterflies have been spotted in the garden this year.
SOLAR at Linden Community Center 1350 Briarwood Ave., 43211
The Center is not open on Saturday, but drive by and see the impressive solar panel display on this 55,000-square-foot building. And check out the community art tiles recently installed on the Center’s entrance patio. The Linden Community Center opened in March 2021, and it was built with community ideas.
JAZZ in the Park @ Maloney Park, 1701 Joyce Ave, July 15, 6 – 8 p
On July 15 hear MacFlava. The weekly July event includes bouncy house, food trucks, vendors, health screenings and more. It is presented by the South Linden Area Commission. On July 22 hear Tim Tolber & Co., and Angel Farrah on July 29.
The Simply Living Mission:
Creating a compassionate and sustainable world through personal, community & cultural transformation.
Simply Living Promotes: Community education for sustainable living Environmental education focused on lifestyle issues Mindful decisions regarding the environment Living local – eating, drinking and buying local advocates for the local economy, freedom from consumerism
Simply Living Sustainable Business Directory – http://directory.simplyliving.org
Are your local favorites listed? Is your business listed? If not, let us know!