Every summer, London & Middlesex Housing Corporation (LMHC) run a residential Garden Project to brighten up the common and family spaces in their community. This year 116 participants at 20 different properties took park in the Project. With their gardening supplies in hand, as provided by LMHC staff, residents select the area in which they wish to work and undertake the planting, watering and weeding themselves.

Social Housing Today interviewed Michelle Lynne Goodfellow, LMHC’s Development Coordinator and project lead of the Garden Project, to learn more about the project.

Q: When did the garden project begin and how did the idea to integrate community gardens come about?

The Garden Project started four years ago; we wanted to challenge the stereotype of public housing as being uninviting and barren. With a limited budget for landscaping and beautifying our properties, we invited tenants to tend the gardens themselves. We gave our avid gardeners an opportunity to exercise their green thumbs and allow the community to benefit from the beautiful gardens.

Q: Can anyone participate in the garden project?

All interested tenants are invited to participate in groups of two or more at our high rise buildings. This year, for the first time, tenants from our family sites were not required to work in teams tending to gardens in the common areas. They could also order plants for their own yards.

Q: How is it decided what gardening supplies and plants will be provided to residents?

The tenants are given a modest plant budget within which they may choose the plants and supplies that they wish. Over the years they’ve ordered everything from the usual annuals and perennials to rose bushes, ornamental grasses, herbs and grass seed.

Q: Do any of the gardens grow fruits or vegetables? If yes, what do you do with it?

A couple of the tenant groups have chosen to grow vegetables in their garden areas. They harvest and use the vegetables themselves, or share them with other tenants.

Q: Who judges the gardens and what criteria are they judged on?

Two LMHC staff members and one member of the LMHC Board of Directors have judged the gardens every year. Criteria for judging include the choice of plants for the individual growing conditions (shade, sun), the design of the gardens/placement of plants, how well the gardens have been maintained (weeding, watering, trimming or dead-heading) and overall impression.

Q: Has the garden project made an impact on the community? If so, how?

The gardens have improved the appearance of all the participating sites. It has also increased tenant pride in their homes, as well as beautifying our neighbourhoods.

At our Limberlost family site, a team project located at one of the common areas on an outer boundary of the property immediately attracted positive community attention. The tenants worked hard to make the area attractive, and even asked for paint to touch up a property sign within the flower bed they were tending. We later learned that community members passing by the area on daily walks also assisted by removing any litter present.

Q: What tips would you give other housing providers who are interested in starting a similar garden project?

As with all projects of this size, the Garden Project requires a lot of behind-the-scenes staff time to coordinate the notices, plant orders, judging and prizes. So you should make sure to plan your schedule and time accordingly to accommodate project activities.

Now that the contest has ended, the LMHC Garden Project participants will continue to maintain the gardens throughout the entire growing season. Congratulations to the team from 10 York Street in Newbury for winning first place for a third year in a row.

See this year’s Garden Project Results