In order to encourage local shopping and support small Northside businesses, I am taking this year to highlight local businesses in the Camden Community News. In the spirit of creating a walkable neighborhood, this month I want to talk not about a local business, but definitely about a local resource. The Folwell neighborhood’s corner gathering space, The Story Garden. The Story Garden is not the only community garden on the Northside, it’s simply the highlight this month. There are so many wonderful growing spaces, I hope you are able to connect to one that is close to you and within walking distance.
If we have never met, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Danielle and I serve as The Story Garden organizer. If you haven’t been, The Story Garden is located at 35th and Humboldt Ave. N, where neighbors were displaced after the 2011 tornado hit the Northside. A year after their home was demolished, a group of volunteers came on a warm Saturday morning and began tilling fresh black compost into the corner lot. It was then that the garden began to grow, but it took a couple of years for us to find her name, her vibe and her purpose.
This quaint corner garden is dedicated to an open and free neighborhood garden and gathering space. This garden specifically is what I like to call an “expansion and exploration” space where we prioritize Peace, Community, Creativity, Harmony and Growth. The Story Garden is a rented lot with the City of Minneapolis which means there is no charge to explore, help, or harvest from the garden. It is a public lot, which for me means that it is open to all who live in the neighborhood. An opportunity to learn about plants and herbs, rhythms of the season, horticulture practices, different cultures, and the way they interact with a variety of vegetation. It also means those who come to the garden space are invited into their own personal growth of knowledge and experience.
For years the garden has served as a reprieve for so many. There are those who come to work in the garden, weeding as a form of meditation. A way to get their hands in the dirt and recenter themselves. Others come to sit by the bonfire or rest on the benches on their way to the park. Folks who walk their dog plan their route to include going by the garden so they can see what’s new and blooming. I have a handful of folks I see once a year in the fall to come harvest because they know they are welcome at the garden. I even have neighbors who take their cat for a walk through the garden every night starting in the spring when the weather turns warm. The garden has hosted parties, meetings, poetry slams, classes, photoshoots, storytelling events, food giveaways and cookouts. It is important to me that folks know we grow more than just food in the garden, we grow connection and community. It has always been what the garden does, and it continues to be the foundation we stand on moving forward.
I have always said the garden isn’t mine, it is ours. It is a representation of our collective effort, care and attention. We don’t really bring outside groups into the garden to tend and work. The garden itself will always represent the community it is in. Whatever the shape of the garden, is what the community can give to it, the time the neighborhood can afford to help it grow.
In the past, we have tried a handful of ways to organize “work days” and “events.” Each summer seems to bring forward a slightly different energy and neighbor crew which changes up when and how we organize these events. What I can say is this, if you are interested in participating in the work and fun of the garden (and let’s be honest, we have a lot of fun during our work days too) please reach out to me directly at danielle.tietjen@gmail.com. We also use our FB group “The Story Garden” and will be adding an Instagram and website this summer. I email those who are part of our newsletter, and we flier the blocks around the garden. This is everyone’s garden and I want to make sure folks who want to participate can.
This year we have our bee hives again; we love our bees and try our hardest to ensure they are happy and not angry so we can live in harmony. We added four more fruit trees last year, multiple berry bushes, and hundreds of native plants. This year we hope to add a “Free Little Food Shelf,” a bike rack, new compost bins, and elevated beds for those who can’t bend over. We continue to try to make the garden accessible to neighbors and include more and more resources to serve the community. If you have ideas, I would love to hear them.
A gentle reminder that The Story Garden doesn’t always have to be a place where folks work, harvest or are ‘productive.’ Allowing ourselves to simply exist and enjoy green space is so important for our mental, emotional and physical well being. I hope everyone knows that The Story Garden is your garden. It’s our garden. It’s our little piece of green, food, exploration and connection.
I hope to see you in the garden this summer! Our hope is to host an event once a month. Check out what we have planned already: May 11 – Garden Clean Up; May 19 – Planting; June 22 – Meditation in the garden; July 7 – Salsa Making; August 10 – Meditation in the garden; September TBD – Harvest Supper; October TBD – Pumpkin Give Away; November TBA – Bonfire; and December 7 – Winter Tree Event.
Pictured are some photos from previous Story Garden events.
Editor’s note – There’s a Camden Community garden near you! Find your local neighborhood organization and contact them for info.