Sacred Places
Girard Children's Community Garden
City Blossoms' oldest green space, split into zones by hand-painted signs.
WHERE
Washington, DC
SETTING
Neighborhood
PARTNER INSTITUTION
City Blossoms
Visit
Where it is
1450 Girard St NW, Washington, DC 20009
What happens here
City Blossoms runs kid-centered programming here regularly and has built a core group of children who come back for their events and activities. Group activities begin at the covered structure by the entrance. When the garden is closed, visitors to the neighboring playground can still sit and journal, because the bench was deliberately placed outside the garden space.
HOW IT CAME TO BE
Built for the children who would use it.
01
The Need
City Blossoms originated to address the lack of access to nature experienced by many children in Washington, DC.
02
The Vision
With community input, City Blossoms builds green spaces that are free and safe places for children to explore the outdoors, express themselves, and cultivate their community. Each year thousands of Black and Latino children and children of immigrant backgrounds, from toddlers through teens, engage as cultivators, using their creativity, intellect, and energy to shape their communities through gardens that are both fantastic and functional.
03
The Transformation
Girard was built in 2008 and is City Blossoms' oldest Community Green Space, a small linear vegetative garden directly adjacent to the Community Heights playground and community center. An array of planting beds splits the space into multiple zones, each colorfully labeled with a painted sign. Artwork displays decorate the perimeter. A small covered structure near the entrance serves as the hub for programming. At the back of the garden, under an apple tree, a reading nook holds a backless bench, and a little free library hosts the garden's book collection. Since 2008 City Blossoms has designed, developed, collaborated on, or provided programming and training for over 100 projects in DC and nationwide.
WHO TENDS IT
Isa Zambrano
Firesoul, Girard Children's Community Garden
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Taylor Vandick
Firesoul, Girard Children's Community Garden
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HEAR FROM THE VISITORS
From the Little Yellow Journal
47 years around the sun that now has my skin damp with sweat. Sun streaming in between building on this the 3rd day of spring. The sun parts the buildings like the warmth it brings has split the cold and rainy days of this week. I am happy to bask in the first warm day of spring… and a bug just bit me.
