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.

Fantabulous group of conservation-minded, organic growing, urban/suburban gardeners with a…read morebeautiful demonstration garden in the city. The setting at Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford is perfect for strolling the grounds, walking the dog and running the children around till they fall asleep with exhaustion. Need ideas for composting? Tilth has 'em. Want to know if tomatoes will ever get ripe in Seattle? Tilth can fill you in on growing tips. This is a great association to associate with.

This past growing season I bought a half share in the Seattle Tilth CSA. I've gotten CSA boxes…read morethrough several other farms before (both in Seattle and Wisconsin) and the Seattle Tilth CSA really delivered. Each week the produce was diverse, fresh, and delicious. Items were well selected and I had very little produce go to waste. The half share was a good amount for my wife and I. I also really liked the add-on options; we were out of town one week, and were able to get credit, we used our credit to select goat cheese and honey from the add-on options. That goat cheese was truly incredible! I've also got to commend Seattle Tilth for their educational programming and community empowerment work. Really a great resource for our city.

I just recently received a plot at this p-patch with my roommate. The garden is organic (although…read morenot certified) which means no pesticides are used. The leaders of the p-patch are organized, well informed, and help keep things orderly. There are rules in place to keep from having a neighbor shade your plot and the plots are split into groups so you have your own dedicated group leader. The annual meeting was a chance to meet everyone and the fellow gardeners all seem very nice and speak of watching out for each others plots when they're not around. I look forward to the vegetables and fruits I will be getting from this organic garden this year and for years to come.

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.

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.

With the foggy weather and trees with moss, the park gave an exotic feeling. I loved that I felt…read morelike I was in the wild out of the city. The road around the outskirts of the park isn't the best for running, as the road has rocks and encounters traffic lights. I recommend running inside the park instead. I liked that they had a parking area too!

This is a beautiful, shady park. Good for a walk on a hot day. The creek running through it adds…read morewonderful, calming sounds and a place for people and dogs to cool their feet. I hope someonevis planning to decrease the spread of invasive plants here soon.

Not really much going on with this mini hike. I just wish that there was more water in the jug to…read moreuse for when you pat moss turtle baby for a good wish. Still cute w the little troll houses on the trees, though, hehe

apparently this troll is v FAMOUS?? attracted quite the crowd throughout the day everyday i passed…read moreby. there's a staircase for u to climbed up behind it as well. wish i took more pics of this quaint, twilight forest core park. met a sweet lady who gave me hint to a secret "treasure hunt" if ykyk. very short about 1/2 to 3/4 miles long. great plc to relax by shade, picnic, sit on bench.