One other suggestion, albeit silly-sounding, how about adding a bird feeder or two? I know that the residents at the nursing home here spend the majority of their time where they can watch the birds. Oh, wait, I have one other thing before I hush for the night, I have tons of extra seed left from year to year, mostly heirloom seeds that can be saved. If you would be interested, I would more than happy to see someone get some good use out of them next year if you want the extras. Some of these varieties have been handed down for centuries, and have wonderful stories to go with them. It would be a great project to make some "seed-story" markers that tell the history of some of the varieties. For example, there is a corn variety (i would have to look up the name again) that a man shared with his best friend under the strict condition that he use it only for himself. The best friend sold the seed for a very large sum of money and this action ended their life-long friendship. Although, if you were to do this, you would probably want more of the local varieties that would have a regional history, but my offer still stands. Just let me know, and I will hook you up for next year. Norma

This is a great idea. Matthews has a community garden they set up a few years back on a spare plot of land next to Hgwy 51 near a church school,church and retirement center. Great location.

David, I had going a very long post of recommendation when the electricity went blip and I lost it all...damn. Well, here goes again...start with a "business plan" outlining all the important parts of the project and a timeline for completing steps to completion. Some questions for you to consider: Who is doing the work? The site has to be cleared of trash, the soil tested for heavy metals and toxins, and the garden units laid out and generally prepped with available potable water for garden plots and gardeners. Who are your gardeners? Have you polled the neighbors, local religious and ethnic centers? Will you be charging them for their plots? What are their responsibilities to the garden and to each other? How will you get liability insurance (Your property owner probably won't let you run a community garden without insurance unless you can get the city park's department or public works to sponsor the project). An association with a local agency might give you more for the invested buck. What are your security needs for the garden and the gardeners? Fencing is a minimum. Have you got sponsors to help pay for preparation, layout, tools and other expenses? The garden ought to have sets of simple tools and a safe storage place. Try to interest local houses of worship, ethnic clubs, ethnic grocers, local botanical and garden clubs (check with Brooklyn Botanical Garden and New York Botanic Garden -- the first publishes little gardening books including one I think on community gardens. There are already a large number of community gardens in the NY Metropolitan area for you to visit and talk about your vision. Good luck, hope this helps, Marshall

How did you choose on a wild garden? (instead of veggie etc) Are you on twitter? School gardens was the topic of #Gardenchat about a month ago. Had great advice. I'll see if I can look up the link or get more information. I do know some on twitter that help with their child's school garden that I could connect you with I'm @Bluelgcrew