The SW Community Garden opened on July 31st, 2013 with the help of Fiskars, The Home Depot, and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. The garden is the culmination of a year long effort by a group of green-thumbed SW residents that found a common interest, and worked to bring it to fruition.

The garden initially consisted of 34 raised beds: 2 of which are wheelchair accessible, 4 that are specifically reserved for residents of the 4 surrounding public housing complexes, and 10 that are worked communally. In 2014, the garden won a DC Love Your Block grant and added 3 additional plots in October of that year, bringing the total number of plots to 37.

The communal section is open to anyone to volunteer. The communal section grows food not only for its volunteers but for the neighborhood as well. The communal section runs from April until the end of October, and has work days on Wednesdays, 6-7pm, and Sundays 4-6pm. Work days are cancelled when there’s inclement weather.

In 2018, the garden partnered with Christ United Methodist Church to start a garden on the church’s grounds, which is known as the “Sunken Garden.” If you’d like to volunteer in this garden, their work days are Thursdays 5:30-7:30pm, and Sundays 11:30am-1:30pm.

Also, in 2018 the garden won the Southwest Business Improvement District’s first community supported micro grant to turn the garden’s annual spring kick-off into SW Earth, Arts, and Music Day. The day consisted of a paint-by-the-number mural created and led by Eric B. Ricks, a workshop on herbs, planting the communal beds, and a live music performance by the local blues, jazz, soul, and funk band, Kiss & Ride.

In 2019, the garden was featured in the Washington City Paper as part of a piece covering the diversity of community gardens in DC.

In 2022, the garden won the award for “best community garden” by the DC State Fair. The garden also won its second Pocket Change grant. The garden used the funds to conduct two cooking demos at Greenleaf Senior and to pay youth to harvest and deliver produce from the garden to seniors every week.

Connecting Communities

Lansburgh Park is located in Southwest DC and was created during the post-World War II urban renewal phase. The Garden uses its space to help members of the SW community come together, grow food, learn with and from each other, and help build a an environmentally and socially conscious group that contributes to justice and healthy living.

The Garden’s communal plots will be used to grow seasonal fruits and vegetables that will be consumed by Southwest DC residents. Growing one’s own produce can save households large sums of money on their grocery bills, gives residents more control over where their food comes from, and greater oversight of how it is grown and harvested. The garden has adopted organic and sustainable gardening practices that preserve the soil, environment, and surrounding wildlife for future generations.

The garden also has a 365-24-7 composting system that anyone can learn how to use to deposit their food scraps in. To learn more, reach out via email or attend one of our work days.

How to Contribute

The Lansburgh Park Community Garden requires the participation of the neighborhood in order to thrive. Cash and in-kind donations are appreciated (click here to donate) and will be put to good use to support construction and activities. As construction and operations begin, the garden will need material for fencing, a tool shed, a hose and hose cart, wood chips, soil, lumber for raised beds, and gardening tools.  The Garden Group welcomes partnerships with neighboring businesses and community organizations in our activities.

The park is located on I Street and Delaware Avenue SW.