Re: Social gardening
From: David L. Mandel (75407.2361compuserve.com)
Date: Sat, 9 Sep 1995 19:20:37 -0500
Hi folks.

Back from Ireland and almost caught up here.

Just a quick snippet from the gardening and home improvement section of last
Saturday's mainstream daily newspaper here. There's a story about a 20-year-old
apartment complex that

 "was once a combination of shopworn lawns and nondescript foundation plantings.
'There wasn't a single flower here when we moved in three years ago,' says
Sheila Hubbard, who manages the complex with her husband, Randy. ...
        "Two years ago (the Hubbards) began to turn a gravel-covered mound of
dirt into a flower bed. Other residents began to follow suit, adding hanging
baskets to balcony apartments and enlivening small, enclosed ground-level patios
with flowers and vegetables. ... (a few paragraphs of descriptions of other
plantings) ...
        "Besides beautifying the landscape, gardening at the Sandpiper has other
benefits. 'Most of our tenants are senior citizens, disabled and mentally
challenged people,' Sheila explains, 'and our gardens have become a very
important part of our community. Something as wonderful as gardening gives
people a chance to get involved. ...'
        "And the property owners, mindful of the advantages of having few
vacancies, have been forthcoming with funds for gardening. 'We have a community
here,' Sheila says. 'And people tend to stay somewhere they feel safe and know
their neighbors. It's a family, not just an apartment complex, and people just
love it.'"

No, it's not cohousing. But who says you can't make more of a community wherever
you are? Or that the correct design is the overriding factor determining whether
community life can be improved?

Cheers,

David Mandel, Southside Park Cohousing in Sacramento

P.S.: Remember how I was asking for intentional community connections in Ireland
and no one knew of any existing groups? Well, we figured out why one night over
Guinness. They have common houses in every nook. They're called pubs.

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