Save the Orchard on Virginia
Donation protected
Help us Grow Deep Roots in the Tower Grove East Neighborhood
We are raising money to purchase the Orchard’s lots (currently LRA leased) to go into the Gateway Greening Land Trust, protecting the property from development. Our goal is to raise $6,000 by the end of the summer.
The Orchard on Virginia is more than a community garden. Our mission:
Create a beautiful space that grows fruit
to feed relationships, address hunger,
and provide a place to serve the community.
Make a donation of any amount and watch your contribution bear fruit!
The Orchard on Virginia is a Gateway Greening Giving Grove and Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association Community Garden.
Connect with us on Facebook
Our Story
In 2013 four homes were razed in St. Louis’ Tower Grove East Neighborhood. Neighbors met to decide how to use the space and there the seed of an idea began to take shape. Soon thereafter the Orchard Committee, under the Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association, formed.
We envision an urban food forest with berry bushes and garden space in these once empty lots to beautify our neighborhood, offer green space to residents, and provide food in partnership with Operation Food Search. Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia has aided and advocated for this project from the beginning. Through a Facebook group and occasional meetings we plan, organize work days, and raise funds.
The first couple of years were slow going as we worked to amend the soil with layers of cardboard and leaf mulch. It was hard to imagine the potential that lay in the shallow soil and debris.
Eventually, apple, peach, cherry, paw paw, elderberry, apricot, service berry, and wild plumb saplings were entrusted to the ground. Raspberries, bush cherries, grapes and a pear tree were recently added.
We couldn’t do it without our neighborhood community and beyond. We garner invaluable advice from local farmer and owner of Custom Foodscaping, Mateo Lebon. Two local girl scout troops created work benches, tree labels, and purchased and planted trees. Roosevelt High School students give service hours to the Orchard and learn about gardening. Together we grow!
To attract pollinators to our fruit blossoms, neighbors began planting native flowers. In 2015 and 2017 the Orchard on Virginia was awarded grants by Brightside St. Louis to install a butterfly garden at the front of our property and multiple native beds along a new path and fire circle patio.
And how our saplings have grown! As the trees reach higher into the sky, so do our children. Neighbors, young and old, now enjoy this space to share each other’s company - shoveling mulch or sitting around a fire.
This is a dynamic urban food forest. It’s always changing. Visit us in every season to experience its many personalities. Join us in our mission by donating money, volunteering at our work days, gathering with friends around our fire circle, or spreading the word about community based urban gardening.
We are raising money to purchase the Orchard’s lots (currently LRA leased) to go into the Gateway Greening Land Trust, protecting the property from development. Our goal is to raise $6,000 by the end of the summer.
The Orchard on Virginia is more than a community garden. Our mission:
Create a beautiful space that grows fruit
to feed relationships, address hunger,
and provide a place to serve the community.
Make a donation of any amount and watch your contribution bear fruit!
The Orchard on Virginia is a Gateway Greening Giving Grove and Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association Community Garden.
Connect with us on Facebook
Our Story
In 2013 four homes were razed in St. Louis’ Tower Grove East Neighborhood. Neighbors met to decide how to use the space and there the seed of an idea began to take shape. Soon thereafter the Orchard Committee, under the Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association, formed.
We envision an urban food forest with berry bushes and garden space in these once empty lots to beautify our neighborhood, offer green space to residents, and provide food in partnership with Operation Food Search. Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia has aided and advocated for this project from the beginning. Through a Facebook group and occasional meetings we plan, organize work days, and raise funds.
The first couple of years were slow going as we worked to amend the soil with layers of cardboard and leaf mulch. It was hard to imagine the potential that lay in the shallow soil and debris.
Eventually, apple, peach, cherry, paw paw, elderberry, apricot, service berry, and wild plumb saplings were entrusted to the ground. Raspberries, bush cherries, grapes and a pear tree were recently added.
We couldn’t do it without our neighborhood community and beyond. We garner invaluable advice from local farmer and owner of Custom Foodscaping, Mateo Lebon. Two local girl scout troops created work benches, tree labels, and purchased and planted trees. Roosevelt High School students give service hours to the Orchard and learn about gardening. Together we grow!
To attract pollinators to our fruit blossoms, neighbors began planting native flowers. In 2015 and 2017 the Orchard on Virginia was awarded grants by Brightside St. Louis to install a butterfly garden at the front of our property and multiple native beds along a new path and fire circle patio.
And how our saplings have grown! As the trees reach higher into the sky, so do our children. Neighbors, young and old, now enjoy this space to share each other’s company - shoveling mulch or sitting around a fire.
This is a dynamic urban food forest. It’s always changing. Visit us in every season to experience its many personalities. Join us in our mission by donating money, volunteering at our work days, gathering with friends around our fire circle, or spreading the word about community based urban gardening.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jessica Gazzola
Organizer
St Louis, MO
Norah Ryan
Beneficiary
