SBNDC Spotlight: West First Community Gardeners

Susan V. and her son, Lennox.

“Community” is as important as “garden” for the growers at the West First Community Garden.

“That's been the best part … we became a real community in terms of helping each other, taking care of each other's garden when someone's on vacation,” said Wendy Ballinger, who has had a plot in the West First garden for three years. Gardeners share plants, seeds, and their harvests.

“One of the other gardeners had just an amazing crop of cherry tomatoes,” said Wendy. “She managed to feed at least four of us. It's a lovely community of people that we have built over time.”

Miguel Bennasar, who is also in his third year at the garden, said it’s a great way of meeting people. “You can tell that the people you meet there, they all have the same interests. It’s very clearly a community, so we know each other, we take care of each other. Sometimes when someone is traveling, I'm more than happy to water their plot. So it's a community and everyone is on the same page.”

South Boston NDC manages the community garden, which is part of the West 2nd Street Park. The City of Boston and Breakthrough Properties made the green space possible. There are 21 community garden plots, with shared amenities like compost bins, water, and a tool shed. 

“It's more than just growing and having things that are pretty,” said Wendy, who is a nonprofit development consultant. “It creates a community across different dimensions of the city.” Those dimensions include age, ethnicity, economic status, and political views. 

“We all have a common language, we all have a common purpose.”

Wendy is currently growing garlic, peas, beans, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, swiss chard, arugula, and oregano. “I pack a lot of stuff in,” she said, noting in the past she hadn’t had great luck with gardening but she’s learned so much from having the plot and it shows. “It's been such a joy to learn to garden this way.”

Miguel has always loved gardening and is grateful to have the space to do it, especially in a dense city like Boston. “It's a great thing for the city to have.”

The IT consultant is currently growing tomatoes, hot peppers, jalapenos, swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, and sunflowers (for the pollinators). He noted that the most rewarding things to grow are tomatoes because you can do so much with them. 

Dustin Gould had been on the waitlist and got the call in June that he got a plot. “I think it's great to use green space like this and give people the opportunity to grow their own plants, especially in the city where there's not that much green space,” he said. 

Dustin, who works in operations for a company that sells software to mutual fund companies, is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and summer squash, despite his late start. 

His parents always had a garden and taught him how to garden. “And I think it's kind of fun, too; it gives you something to do.”

Susan V. loves spending time in the garden with her 2-year-old son, Lennox.

“I signed up for the garden plot when it was still under development, and I was pregnant. I had this vision of me and my son building a garden together,” said Susan, who has raised 100+ monarchs in a permaculture-based garden at a previous home. “I think it's so important for him to feel connected to the natural world, be OK with getting dirty, and have a fascination with insects instead of being afraid. So, he is very much like that, and I think a lot of it has to do with our time in the garden.”

Before getting the plot, Susan was utilizing the entire condo balcony to hang garden baskets. “But it wasn't the same as actually putting something in the ground,” she said.

Susan, who has a company that provides testing services for biotech companies that use clinical trial software, is growing sunflowers, zinnias, lavender, pole beans, lettuce, dill, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, sage, thyme, basil, shishito peppers, and sweet peas.

The single mom, who has had the plot for two years, said the garden became symbolic of her and Lennox building a community. All the gardeners know she has a son. “Spending time in the garden with my son was cathartic in many ways, because so much changed for us in a short span of time. Building our garden was so special to me because it was parallel to our growth.

“Having a place where your community can gather to grow things is a good starting point,” Susan said about community gardens. “It’s not only about growing plants but you get to know your neighbors and become more deeply connected to the community – so many things can grow beyond that.”

Wendy Ballinger

Miguel Bennasar

Dustin Gould