Bellingham couple transforms Texas Street yard into a community garden

ZOE FRALEY

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Texas Street hasn't exactly been known for fresh produce and friendly neighbors. But things are changing.

"Historically, it's been pretty crazy over here," says Trudy Shuravloff, 40. "But now it's not. It seems like crime has gone down since we moved here. It's probably not all the garden, but I think it has helped."

About three years ago Shuravloff and her husband, John, started turning the yard of their recently purchased home into a garden open to the community.

| MARK MALIJAN THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

CREATING A COMMUNITY GARDEN

John and Trudy Shuravloff have a few tips for other households interested in creating a community garden.
- Choose an open area where people can see. A front yard is usually much better than a back yard.
- Build raised beds. They are easier to see for neighbors and they cut down on weeding.
- Experiment with different plants. You'll learn what you like to grow and what other people like to eat.
- Figure out what your space can handle. If you don't have a lot of room, it's probably best to choose plants that don't take up too much space.
- Provide a few basic tools that are in an accessible spot.
- The Shuravloffs don't, but you can charge a small fee to cover increased water costs and other upkeep.
- Just dive in. You never know who in your neighborhood has gardening knowledge. The green thumbs will come out of the woodwork.

"When we moved in we thought, �Let's share,' " she says. "We've got all this lawn, let's use it."

So with the help of donations and volunteers, they ripped out the front lawn and replaced it with several raised beds that neighbors can plant in or pick from. The well-kept garden is surrounded by a friendly white picket fence that can be accessed from the couple's driveway or from the sidewalk in front of their home. Though people were a little shy at first, the garden does get visitors.

"People come in and they only take what they need," she says. "They're really respectful."

When there's a good amount of produce, the couple will pick it and place out front for people to take.

"People love it when we have the vegetables and are giving them away," she says. "It really makes a difference for some of the single parents, especially now that food is more expensive." As newcomers to the neighborhood, the garden was also a way for the family to meet its neighbors.

"It's an easy way to get to know people," she says. "Over time you just kind of talk to people because you see them walking by."

Shuravloff sees flowers and the garden as a sort of universal language that everyone can understand and appreciate.

"There's nothing quite like handing some big, tough guy a pretty flower," she says. "It kind of softens them."

As gas and food get more expensive, Shuravloff believes sustainable community gardens are an idea whose time has come.

"People are going to have to create things locally," she says. "A community garden is a good way to do it."

If not for any financial reason, she suggests neighborhoods try a communal garden to harbor a sense of togetherness. Mothers often will come by her garden with their kids or smile and wave when they walk by the garden.

"It's easy for us to all get isolated, even though we live in tight quarters. This gives people an excuse to talk to each other," she says. "Life is richer, the community is richer if we interact with each other."