The Brighton Community Garden has begun its second year.   This year the garden has expanded to 100 plots.    The garden was established in 2009 next to the Buckland House on Westfall Road.  Under Supervisor Sandra Frankel, the Town actively promotes and supports programs to help Brighton residents live more sustainably.  The community garden joined the Brighton Farmers’ Market as a fun, community-building tool to encourage residents to eat more local, sustainably-grown food.

Prior to the garden’s opening in 2009, the Town plowed a large field east of Buckland House, and volunteers marked off plots, laid straw paths, and installed fencing.  One volunteer built a beautiful entry and gate, and another planned and planted a flower bed at the entry.  All 69 plots were assigned in the first year to a diverse group of gardeners, including families with children, senior citizens, college students, and singles.  The Environmental Club from Brighton High School planted watermelons in its plot, and a preschool planted flowers and vegetables.   The youth group from a local church planted vegetables to donate to a local shelter for homeless women and children, and a group of youth from Hillside Children’s Center also tended a plot.  The grand opening of the all-organic garden was held on May 30, attended by Supervisor Frankel and other Town officials.

Within a short time, a beautiful patchwork of tiny, creatively-designed gardens bloomed.  That beauty was captured in the following pictures taken by Supervisor Frankel in a visit to the garden in August:

For more information about the Brighton Community Garden, e-mail brightoncommunitygarden@gmail.com.