The West End Community Garden is West Chester’s longest-running community garden.

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Say hello, to your own little piece of the Borough. West End Community Garden located on W. Gay Street kitty corner from St. Agnes has two spots open this year and so does the West Chester Green Team.

“This is a rare and coveted situation!” the community gardeners told me this week.

West End Community Garden

Originally home to an abandoned water tower, the 23-plot garden came to be in 2009 when residents in the area came together with an idea to save the land from its destiny as a parking lot. They built some raised beds, tilled up the land, and the borough’s largest community garden was born. The plots have been pretty consistently full ever since.

If you are interested, send an email to ourwestendgarden@gmail.com. A plot will cost you $50 for the season and require some light chores. Watering, weeding, mowing – all those little things required to make your garden grow. In return, you have your own bounty as well as access to community raspberries, blackberries, figs, and more. 

Green Team Garden plots

Children helping harvest veggies from a Green Team garden.

The West Chester Green Team is happy to be able again to match up people who would like free garden space with community garden plots. The garden plots are usually 4 X 4 or sometimes 4 X 8 feet. The Green Team supplies the space, you supply tools and your time.

“We believe gardening and growing our own food offer good ways to get in touch with the natural world, give us the satisfaction of acting for the good, and are educational to all concerned,” said Community Garden coordinator for the Green Team Nathaniel Smith. 

“Our gardeners are expected to grow organically and not use any chemical fertilizers or insecticides.” 

See more details and how to apply here.


This story is just one part of a longer weekly West Chester newsletter. Curious what else is going on? You can find the full issue here. To get the latest issue delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe here.

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