The garden's gone better this year than I could have imagined. I've made some new friends, we've…read moreenjoyed looking out for one another, and I harvested over $200 worth of gorgeous produce from my $60/year patch -- and I have probably another $200 worth still in the ground (beets, carrots, onions, flowers, Chinese broccoli, celery, rutabegas, parsnips... the fun never ends!) And I still need to see if our popcorn will get big enough to eat... and I really really need to brave the rain to plant some lettuce! The early summer lettuce we enjoyed was so fantastic, the sweetest lettuce I've ever eaten. The Crossroads P-patch garden was featured in the Bellevue City cable channel's October edition of "It's Your City". To view our segment (and to see me in my pink shirt and lots of shots of my garden!) go here: http://bellevue.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=27&clip_id=2305 You can click the segment link on the right side to skip the Bellevue bicycling program review if that bores you to tears. :-) I will definitely be renewing my patch membership next year... as the first gardener to register, how could I do otherwise? Kudos to Ron Sher for having this lovely idea and for making it happen, spending a lot of money to make a delightful community resource available. He is an amazing guy and Bellevue is lucky indeed that he is so invested in the Crossroads neighborhood (he is the head of Metrovation, the company that owns Crossroads Mall). It's been a pleasure to get to know him a little bit as he tended the artichokes, tomatoes, and sunflowers in his plot.

This is a great place that's next to Jefferson Park…read more If you check out their Instagram page, they post about volunteer meet ups weekly to tend to the gardens and clean up around the area. The amazing thing about this place that there are plots where you can rent them privately to grow your own produce. There are other plots that the volunteers and community members utilize to grow various fruits and vegetables for anyone to harvest. Depending on the season, you can get apples, lavender, thyme, tomatoes, squash, etc. I highly recommend taking a stroll through this area to admire all the amazing fruits and foods that are being grown in an urban area. Sometimes they have paper bags available so that you can harvest various items from the gardens, but they aren't available all the time so be sure to bring your own reusable bag and or containers.

I've been wanting to go to the Beacon Food Forest ever since I heard about it! This garden is a lot…read morelike a community garden... but usually it is implied that those putting in the work for the garden usually get the rewards from it. Those that do are usually people from the neighborhood or volunteers. From my understanding the Beacon Food Forest is just a little bit different. Most of the produce that is grown here anyone that walks through and sees a piece of fruit or a vegetable is free to take it for themselves. With that concept in mind I have to give this community garden five stars. That doesn't mean that applies to the entire garden however. Some areas are rented out and there are signs where the rented spaces are NOT to take the produce that is being grown there. From the looks of it most people seem to be very respectful of that request. Lots of the produce that I saw that was free for the taking was very under ripe but there was indeed some there for you to take... it wasn't completely picked over! There are a number of fun little paths to do an urban hike through the garden which is lots of fun. There are fun decorations too like a whole section of painted rocks and a funky looking scarecrow. The Beacon Food Forest is actually quite large for a community garden... but during my hikes through the area I wish it was bigger... it was a refreshing hike and change of scenery. All urban centers should have these food forests throughout.

This is a beautifully laid out community garden with visual delights such as a children's garden, a…read morebutterfly garden and a gorgeous patch of dahlias which never fail to make me smile and wish it was my place I was walking through. Its true that I am a little biased because I helped build the garden from the mud up way back in 1998 but I still can't help being amazed that what was once a negected weedy area next to a parking lot was transformed into such a lovely place.

This park is a labyrinth in the city with green. It has tony gardens in the center where people…read moregrow things. There's some seating around. Loud because it's next to the highway

This is such an incredible garden and concept. The layout of the plots is beautiful and it's…read moreawesome to see elderly asian people building community through urban gardens. We toured here with my class and saw a video about how important this space is to those who tend it. Having these garden plots helps the gardeners to fight depression, have a sense of pride, and share their stories. It's really heartwarming to witness such a wonderful community space.

The Bellevue Demonstration Garden is a secret garden in the neighborhoods of Lake Hills!…read more(Bellevue). The Garden is connected to a wonderful trail system and I love walking from the garden over to lake Larsen and the blueberry patch. The garden is wheelchair and stroller accessible, it is suitable for children. The demonstration garden is maintained by volunteers from Master Gardeners of King County. Features include Diagnostic Plant Clinics (free consultation on garden topics), Compost Center, Greenhouse Operations, Children's Garden, over 40 demonstration beds and gardens, Saturday Workshop Series and seasonal plant sales. I love visiting this hidden gem throughout the season.

Follow these folks on Facebook and stop by often. They grow multiple plants, many are for eating,…read moreand they harvest and create edible goods from most of it. Includes a section they farm in order to donate to a local food bank. They have many classes here, a community garden, and it's nice just to browse and enjoy a little peaceful garden atmosphere in the middle of town.

From the owner: The New Start Community Garden (also known at the Shark Garden) is a nonprofit teaching garden. It…read moreis a combination of a school garden that grows organic produce for the White Center Food Bank with the help of volunteers, a botanical garden focused on food plants, pollinator habitat, and drought tolerant plants, and a community p-patch program. During the growing season, the garden offers free organic gardening, cooking, and environmental science classes on Saturdays (registration is required). There is a a self guided art walk along the fences and many interpretive signs to learn from in the garden. The garden is open to the public during daylight hours year round. Visit the website to arrange a tour or see upcoming events. Please note that there is no smoking, pets, or picking allowed in the garden.

The fact I've only checked in here twice would be embarrassing if I sweated the details. This…read morecommunity garden is an oasis. It is the place I went regularly during my short Seattle stint. The garden, like my vote of Elliott Bay changed daily. It was a great please to be mindful. The plots and rerun by people in the community and the wait list is long. I'm just grateful people care enough to share beauty in the hood. Please visit and take care to spread love. The spring and summer are the best time, but there's magic 24/7 365.

Absolutely beautiful & stunning community garden. It's technically located behind some residences,…read morebut many people in the community "own" a piece where they have to maintain and grow a garden, it's totally cool. There's some beautiful mosaic work, and it's very fun to check out all the flowers and plants here. A really nice guy who lives in the area happened to be there and told us all about the garden and the plants.

I live really close to this P-Patch and while I don't garden there, I absolutely LOVE wandering…read morearound when it's warm. Sometimes it's nice to see people working on their plots, but mostly I just love it because it's so peaceful and it just feels so GOOD here. I also remember seeing beautiful big sunflowers here in September :)

Historically, the Picardo P-Patch was Seattle's first p-patch and it was from this garden where the…read morep-patch program grew out of. Prior to the p-patch program, the field itself was one of the city's few urban farms. So the soil at Picardo has always been fertile and well drained. I joined Picardo three years ago hoping to grow an absinthe garden complete with wormwood hedges, hyssop, and hops. Well that never came to fruition but I live in an apartment without a backyard, front yard, or even a stretch of easement to grow my own food. So the Picardo farm (and P-patch program in general) has adequately met my needs. As for getting a plot, there's an application fee that is $35. I waited 1 year on a waiting list before getting an assignment at Picardo, but there is also an option to take any assignment at any garden for anyone that wants to avoid a waiting list. Once you're assigned a plot (typically 100-200 square feet), you're supposed to contribute 8 hours of volunteer service to keep your plot. There are all kinds of volunteer garden work parties, activities, and committees you can join to put in your 8 hours. At Picardo, there's a community herb garden, mushroom garden, food bank beds, children's garden, and even a honeybee yard run by WSU students. Every summer there's a Paella dinner fundraiser in the garden and nearby urban wineries sponsor a booth for tasting. If you can get a plot here, you will absolutely not be disappointed.