Now a mature garden, the Clinton
Community Garden has grown up along its original
lines, cultivated over the years by a talented and
diverse array of gardeners. Their interests, skills,
and artistry have shaped the front beds, where unusual
plants can be spotted among better known species. The
front beds include an herb garden along the east
fence, from which visitors may take small cuttings, a
rose bed flanking half of the back fence, and a shrub
and woodland bed running along the fence to the left.
A Native American bed grows along the west building
wall and is home to our honeybee colony. Against the
front fence are beds influenced by Japanese gardening
methods. East of the front gate is a sun and shade
garden and a rock garden. Distinctive beds float on
the lawn, surround the grape arbor and the magnolia
tree, and line the brick walkways. Under the spruce
tree is a special children’s area.
Depending on the season, one can find here hellebores of at least three kinds, dog-tooth violet, witch hazel, flowering quince, skimmia, Japanese anemone, and varieties of peonies and lilac in bloom. The bones of the garden, its shrubs, trees, and vines, include a graceful beauty bush, a Japanese maple in the rock garden, an elegantly pruned dwarf hinoki cypress, a vitex, a flowering Hawthorn, a rounded yew, and grape vines growing over the arbor and on back and front fences. In the spring, the magnolia tree reigns with its pink-and-silver-tinged blossoms, which transform the garden into a fairyland when they shower down onto the grass. A dreamy presence in the snow, the spruce tree is home to many birds throughout the year. The honey locusts, one at the garden’s center and others lining the sidewalk offer generous shade in the summer. For a list of some of the garden’s special plants, see the Special Plants box below.
The garden is still the place both to gather on a broiling summer day and to be alone with nature, in the rain, in the snow, in the sunshine. Neighborhood residents celebrate May Day, the summer solstice, the 4th of July, and harvest time here (see Events). They also come to monthly volunteer days during the growing season and compost their food scraps (see Composting).
Environmental Awareness
True to its roots, our garden maintains its commitment to environmentalism. We know that community gardens like ours are not only essential to human health but to the health of the planet. We strongly discourage the use of chemical pesticides. Many of our gardeners employ natural and organic remedies, such as beer traps for slugs and companion planting to attract beneficial insects. We support pollinators with the variety of our plantings and by keeping honeybees. In the past few years, our beekeepers have used organic methods to help protect our bees against colony collapse disorder. Gardeners are also asked not to use pressure-treated wood, which contains a toxic preservative, in making raised beds. We compost plant refuse in the four-part bin in the back and community food scraps in our food-scrap collection area. In the future, we hope to establish a rainwater harvesting system.
Major Projects
In recent years, gardeners and other volunteers have built and stained new benches for the grape arbor, put in new brick paths throughout the front and back gardens, and embarked on ongoing lawn renovation.