In the past two months the FRIENDS of Gilman Urban Gardens have converted a regular old median into a community-run cooperative garden, garnering attention from urban gardening author Darrin Nordahl and King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who both dropped by the garden this week.

Nordahl, Councilmember Phillips, and Gilman Urban Gardens founder Charlie Hoselton help plant a tree. (Photo courtesy of Charlie Hoselton).

Tomorrow Saturday, May 8, the garden will entertain another special guest, Seattle Tilth‘s Natural Soil Building Program Manager Laura Matter. Laura will be at the garden from 10 a.m. to noon to chat with gardeners and community members about the project, soil building, plant watering, pest and weed control and anything else related to the art of gardening, according to Hoselton.

The Gilman Urban Gardens is currently working to install a sprinkler and watering system, and is planning on applying for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant in the coming year.

This past weekend the first seeds were planted at the newly born Gilman Urban Gardens, a 20-plot community built urban garden built into two large medians along Gilman Drive W. and 13th Ave. W.

Charlie Hoselton, the man responsible for organizing the garden development, sent over these pictures, taken on Sunday, April 11.

“Kristen and Dave planted our garden’s first seeds yesterday!  Lot’s of people are busy building their plots, of which 24 for plots have now been assigned,” he wrote. According to Charlie, there are only 5 plots left, so anyone interested in getting a spot at the garden should contact him as soon as possible.

So far the Gilman Urban Gardens have been primarily funded by the donations and out-of-pocket expenses of those with plots. However, Charlie plans to talk to the city about getting a sprinkler system put in, and is planning to apply for community grants to help improve the gardens.

“At some point in the next couple of months after the initial push to build the garden, I plan to apply for a neighborhood matching fund grant to help improve our site,” he wrote. “And hopefully get us the funds to add some nice elements to our site.”

Interested in claiming one of the remaining plots? Take a look at the user agreement (.pdf) and working site plan (.pdf). You can email Charlie at friendsofgilman.urbangardens@hotmail.com.

(Photos courtesy of Charlie Hoselton).

Over the weekend the FRIENDS of Gilman Urban Gardens broke ground on a 20-plot community garden at the medians along Gilman Drive W. and 13th Ave. W., removing trees, growth and tilling the area.

Residents interested in securing a plot dug in from 9 a.m. well into the afternoon both Saturday and Sunday. Project head Charlie Hoselton praised the help in an email sent out to volunteers today.

We accomplished an amazing amount of work this weekend, thanks to all who pitched in, in helping build the infrastructure of our garden.

Charlie said he will continue working in the garden for a few hours each morning (10 a.m. to noon) Tuesday, March 30 through Friday, April 2 and welcomes anyone interested in volunteering to join him. There will be work parties again this weekend, beginning at 10 a.m. on both Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4, during which Charlie plans on finishing up the remaining work.

This coming weekend we can cut in remaining paths, plant the trees, put the rain barrels in and by Sunday afternoon, start assigning plots so that gardeners can start gardening!

And aside from stellar volunteers of all ages, Charlie is still looking for a few more supplies from the community, specifically cinder blocks, retaining wall blocks or bricks that could be used to construct a strong base for the garden’s rain barrels. If anyone would like to donate these or other items to the Gilman Urban Gardens, or get more information on how to volunteer, contact Charlie at friendsofgilman.urbangardens@hotmail.com. Want to learn more about getting a plot at the garden? Download the FRIENDS of Gilman Urban Gardens user agreement (.pdf).

(Photos courtesy of Charlie Hoselton).

Queen Anne resident Charlie Hoselton has been working on getting the permits necessary to turn the two large medians along Gilman Drive W. and 13th Ave. W. into 20 organic urban community garden plots. After a meeting with the City Arborist, Charlie says the next step to obtaining the necessary permits is coming up with a site plan for the gardens. He writes,

The city is willing to let us create raised beds, which really helps with the sites slopes.  We need to come up with a layout for the beds, including set backs from the curbs, and plant height restrictions for 30 feet from signs.

The arborist marked trees, the Black Locusts on site, which we can remove.  We will need to come up with a replacement plan for those trees that we remove.  He would like us to plant 5-6 viable trees, whether on-site or close by.

Charlie will be holding a meeting at the Medians on Sunday, March 21 at 10 a.m. and invites anyone interested in participating in the urban garden to come and share ideas for laying out a site plan/discussing further project details. He wrote,

Our friend from the city felt pretty confident that we can get through the permit process this coming week and get the green light.