tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296442124707185645.post5501243154006898746..comments2024-03-15T15:05:45.263-05:00Comments on MOUND: Community Garden ParksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296442124707185645.post-79950596205774055592008-11-10T21:16:00.000-06:002008-11-10T21:16:00.000-06:00The Comments Intention Gap:)The Comments Intention Gap:)Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02554893883207752597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296442124707185645.post-62101565860558522452008-11-10T08:31:00.000-06:002008-11-10T08:31:00.000-06:00No, I agree with you entirely about a community ga...No, I agree with you entirely about a community garden being about gardening. My devil comment was meant with a smile.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296442124707185645.post-13933572819144109262008-11-09T23:43:00.000-06:002008-11-09T23:43:00.000-06:00I think I rattled on about alot of things in this ...I think I rattled on about alot of things in this post, but my main points were in response to Flatbush Gardeners post about the Target redesign of the Bedford Ave. community garden where the sense of the original "community" garden appears to have been consumed by its "restoration."<BR/> I would rather see these community landscapes stay community-oriented in their design so that they may develop their own special character grown out of the handy-work of its gardeners.<BR/><BR/>I am not against design, and designers are not the devil (so not what I think), but it does seem an imposition of that designer's ideas (or his responsibility to his patron) on the community it is supposed to serve. <BR/><BR/>The character of the Target Garden and a few others is so different from the gardens without designers under the NYRP. By all means there is room for designers, but maybe less so where the central appeal is the vernacular, multiple perspectives of a community site.<BR/><BR/>My point about beer and sprawl is central to a redesign that prescribes passive enjoyment over active involvement. The Target redesign incorporates primarily a lawn and seating areas into the space. I can imagine talk of bbq and tossing a ball on the lawn, but when I look at the photos it seems largely for sitting and looking. I can easily imagine the eerie computer-generated people standing and sitting in the marketing image. <BR/>The gardening work is relegated to mowing and clipping, the kind of maintenance I associate with estates and campuses. It removes the life of gardening from the garden. An yes, for me, gardening is about the activity of gardening. I will admit that I do not know if this is true for all community gardeners, but I am willing to go out on this limb and say that it may be for many. Without the exploration of gardening in the garden, we are less invested in the place and its life. The garden becomes a yard, a stage for other activities maybe, and this is not the worst. But it is different.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02554893883207752597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296442124707185645.post-17926214297318218902008-11-09T17:37:00.000-06:002008-11-09T17:37:00.000-06:00Hm. As a garden designer and hence the devil (?).....Hm. As a garden designer and hence the devil (?)...I say, well, there's good design and bad design. Bad design leaves out a space for beer drinking and vegetable sprawl.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632520557553405790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8296442124707185645.post-34721135016928386802008-11-08T13:33:00.000-06:002008-11-08T13:33:00.000-06:00An excellent example of a community garden succeed...An excellent example of a community garden succeeding as a "park", but not one by my definition, is the <A HREF="http://www.narrowsbg.org/" REL="nofollow">Narrows Botanical Gardens</A> in Bay Ridge. Because community volunteers are responsible for its operation and upkeep, it is a community garden, even though it does not have areas devoted to food production.Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener)https://www.blogger.com/profile/08467595231097695124noreply@blogger.com