Turning a parking lot into a community garden
Crossroads Shopping Center in Bellevue, WA, is an extraordinary gathering place for many reasons: a superb international food court, free live music, a farmer’s market, and fierce chess tournaments. So it was no surprise to us when Ron Sher, Crossroad’s developer, told us about his vision to turn part of a parking lot into a community garden. Pomegranate Center worked with gardeners and volunteers over three days to transform this lot into a beautiful, memorable community space.
On June 12, 2009, the sound of power tools bounced off of pavement and across the mall parking lot calling the attention of shoppers and movie-goers passing by. Over the next three days, we worked together to build a garden fence, gateway, kiosk, benches and a picnic shelter. Over 30 volunteers - including every community gardener with a plot on the site - gave their time to this project. “I knew we were getting a fence,” said Alex, a new gardener at the site and avid volunteer at the workshops. “But I had no idea it would be this beautiful!”
Crossroads is now home to yet another unique community space - a parking lot p-patch!
More pictures from our three days of building the Crossroads Community Garden