52 Weeks of Neighboring - 4/9
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Tip of the Week – Plant a garden in your front yard.
Most of the time, folks plant gardens in their back yard because it offers more privacy. With this neighboring experiment, we’re turning that idea upside down. Planting a garden in your front yard is great for neighboring in a few ways:
- When you’re working in your garden in the front yard, an avenue for communication opens. It gives you an opportunity to talk with the person who walks their dog every morning or the parent who’s taking the kids for a stroll through the neighborhood.
- You can meet fellow gardeners. We’ve done a lot of garden-facilitated neighboring in SoCe and we have found an abundance of neighbors who are incredibly passionate and talented gardeners. It has been a wonderful way to hear their stories and build friendships.
- It looks great and/or tastes great. If you choose to grow flowers, you can add great aesthetic appeal to your street. If you decide to grow produce, you get food! This not only cuts down on your grocery bill, but also you can share with your neighbors. Plus, homegrown produce is always a great option for a healthy and sustainable food source.
If you have a small household but lots of garden space, consider offering some of that space to a neighbor who may not have the space to plant a garden of their own. This not only builds a friendship, but now you also have some help when it comes to watering and maintaining your garden. One of our ongoing projects is SoCe Life Garden Boxes. We currently have 18 throughout our neighborhood, including one at our neighborhood police station, and 5 others across Wichita. These boxes grow good, clean, organic food as well as neighborly relationships.
If you’d like one, we’d love to make you one (allow about 1 month for us to build and paint it). Another bonus? Your $100 purchase not only buys a box for your yard, but also a box for someone in the SoCe neighborhood. A win, win! To order a box, please click here.
Happy neighboring!