JUST AROUND THE CORNE Growing with Community Gardening Mary Lee Coe The Countryman Press Taftsville, VT 05073 $6.95,1978,149 pp. Mary Lee Coe writes with the candor of a wise veteran. In Growing With Coin- iminih/ Gardening, she describes her experience with gardening as it has evolved from a naive first attempt at communal gardening to a harmonious community effort. The interaction among the gardeners and their personal and spiritual growth are the most important harvest. Growing with Conuniinih/ Gardening discusses the therapeutic and educational value of gardening and offers a step-by- step guide for organizing and maintaining a community garden. In profiles of existing garden projects, Ms. Coe closely critiques their salient points and pitfalls with the belief that the success of community gardens depends on careful planning, realistic goals, and a contractual agreement among members to insure a mutual commitment. This valuable resource offers project improvement ideas for community gardeners and inspiration for newcomers. City Farmer Suite 801,318 Homer Street Vancovuer, BC V6B 2V3 City Farmer is a lively center for information and inspiration on urban agriculture in British Columbia. Projects have included developing a demonstration food garden, producing curriculum materials, and putting on a series of urban agriculture courses. Community Schools, Inc. 37 Mountain Dr. Santa Barbara, CA 93103 Since 1972, Community Schools, Inc. has been providing new forms of community education at their 3-acre farm field-station called Rancho Vejar. Programs focus on gardening and agriculture for school-age children. The innovative programs of the group are desribed in detail in Bringing Home the Bacon: School Gardens and Home Careers in Urban Farming (1980, $3.00). About fifty to eighty students per week arrive at the farm to work in small groups. The school also provides one-day events by “bringing the farm" to schools in the area. The book could easily be used by others wanting to create such a program in their area. Community Schools, Inc. has also been working on the Santa Barbara Hunger Coalition, the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, and a new Museum of California Art. American Community Gardening Association P.O. Box 8645 Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8645 The ACGA is a non-profit association comprised of community gardening leaders and sponsors from all regions of the U.S. They also publish a sup>er little quarterly (individuals $15/yr.; organizations $30/yr.) which deals with such important topics as funding, site acquisition, and special population garden programs. Gardens Arefor People (Second Edition) Thomas D. Church McGraw-Hill Books 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 $37.50,1983,256 pp. "A garden that becomes part of the house and a house that moves easily and gracefully into the garden is the ideal balance." The late Thomas D. Church's Gardens Are for People, a classic work in landscape design, has been updated by Grace Hall and Michael Laurie. Church, whose contributions have merited numerous landscape and architecture awards, designed gardens for city, suburban, and country sites to reflect simplicity, informality, and practicality. This book, written for both the professional and the amateur gardener, should warm a winter's night with ideas for spring. Fruition The Plan P.O. Box 872 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 Fruihon encourages the planHng of fruit and nut trees in public parks, schools, neighborhoods, hiking and biking trails and generally anywhere that people can enjoy and use them. Seattle Tilth Urban Agriculture Center 4649 Sunnyside North Seattle, WA 98103 An innovative center featuring demonstration gardens, a solar greenhouse, compost bins, trellised fruit trees, and a resource library for urban gardeners. Workshops are offered frequently on topics such as winter gardening, herb growing, and backyard livestock.
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