On January 31, NGT kicked off the new year with the preservation of the Peace Garden, our 53rd protected green space! The Peace Garden was created in 2001 under the auspices of New Jerusalem Now (NJN), a nonprofit focused on addiction recovery, founded by the Medical Mission Sisters. The Garden provides a peaceful green oasis in a North Philadelphia neighborhood which is struggling with poverty, gun violence, and addiction. The Peace Garden’s North Philadelphia neighborhood is characterized by vast tracts of vacant land, disinvested row houses, and public housing developments. While NJN prima ..read more

NGT’s Marlana Moore (L), presenting Pulaski Zeralda Community Garden members with the Garden Hero Award. The Pulaski Zeralda Garden has been a beautiful, thriving community garden in the Southwest Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia for 35 years. This GivingTuesday, you can help secure its future for generations to come. NGT has secured an opportunity to expand the garden and prevent a real estate developer from putting up a building that would overshadow it. On Tuesday, November 28, we’re asking for support to help us reach the goal of raising $10,000 towards the cost of purchasing the lo ..read more

This growing season, NGT expanded its partnership with John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and the Audubon Society to bring hands-on technical support, education, and native plants to create new pollinator gardens at the Five Loaves Two Fish and Viola Street Community Gardens. These exciting initiatives build off the successful pollinator planting work that took place with the NGT-protected Pentridge Children’s Garden, and Chester Ave Community Garden over the past few summers.   The Pollinator Network Project is a collaborative effort with local partners and community groups, funde ..read more

There is an innate synergy between art and nature. Go on a tour of any art museum, and you will encounter painting after painting of picturesque natural landscapes. The other side is true, too. Talk to any dedicated horticulturist or gardener, and they will tell you how the design and care of a garden is an art form. This is showcased at many NGT gardens in the form of murals and mosaics. Occupying an otherwise blank wall, these public art projects provide year-round pops of color and relate the histories of the gardens and the people who steward them to any intrigued passerby.   The conn ..read more

On Tuesday, June 20th, Neighborhood Gardens Trust was thrilled to join a press conference and garden tour celebrating a successful campaign to protect nearly one hundred community gardens from the threat of sheriff’s sale and to call for clear pathways to community ownership of the land. This celebration recognized an important move by the City of Philadelphia to overcome a huge barrier to preserving threated gardens. The city has acquired historic tax liens that encumber 91 community garden properties, which eliminates the risk of the gardens being lost to speculation and development. Carla ..read more

The start of growing season is always an exciting time. Neighbors look forward to seeing bright colors pop up from what’s planted, and gardeners get to rekindle their relationship with the soil and other gardeners. The new season at Pulaski Zeralda Garden came with new leadership. Tracey Savage took on the role of Garden Coordinator and recently showed us around the garden and shared her vision for the future.  Founded in 1987 by Ms. Cook, the Germantown garden was then an empty lot but the community saw its potential to be more. The beauty of the garden is what drew in Tr ..read more

For most neighborhoods in North Philadelphia, you would consider yourself lucky to have a tree on your block that provides shade during the hot summer months or a picturesque scene as leaves fall in autumn. At 18th and Glenwood, there’s not only trees, but a 4-acre community garden. For almost 40 years, Glenwood Green Acres has been a vital resource providing access to the land to grow food, build community, and pass on agricultural traditions and knowledge. The garden sits on the former site of a whiskey barrel factory that was destroyed due to a fire. It soon became a dumping ground and eye ..read more

This little oasis has been a fixture in the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood since 1992. Over many years this all-volunteer garden community has stayed true to its mission to provide a transformative educational and safe space for children, youth and families who have limited access to fresh food sources. Their goal is to help resolve inequities within the local food system while educating the community. They achieve this through seed saving and community-based actions emphasizing accountability, sovereignty, education, and unity. All are welcome to assist in achieving PCG’s mission. The ga ..read more

It’s Earth Month 2021, and we’re proud to announce the permanent preservation of the Emerald Street Community Farm! Securing and protecting the land for this East Kensington communal growing space took five years and efforts of many, from the grassroots to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Emerald Street Community Farm (ESCF) was first started in 2008 on the site of five vacant lots at the corner of Emerald and East Dauphin Streets. The site was full of tall weeds, trash, and an RV with no traceable history. The dumping was so bad the city was forced to put up a fence. A nearby resident, E ..read more

Alanna Bozman, a gardener at Chester Avenue Community Garden, shares her favorite early spring blossoms now growing in the garden! Daffodils (Narcissus): The standard-bearers of spring. Found in the large front bed, along the side walkway, and in several beds in the back.  Crocus (Crocus): Absolutely adorable! Easily my favorite early spring flower. Most of ours are purple, but we have a few in both orange and white. Unfortunately, many of our crocuses took a beating in yesterday’s rain. Found in the large front bed. Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas): Without the large bracts of its ..read more