A View From Above: Glover Archbold Community Garden

Several long stone throws north of the M Street gridlock, and a few pitching wedges west of Wisconsin Avenue, traffic is a different sort of chaos. The chaos of nature, birds and bees and butterflies all fluttering and buzzing about the maze of garden plots and the twisting of vines at Glover Archbold Community Garden.

It's the largest community garden in the District, a whopping three acres of organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers that backs directly up to Rock Creek Park at 42nd St. and New Mexico Ave. at Tunlaw Rd. With over 150 plots, it's not only the largest community garden but the most popular, too. With a waiting list some fifty applicants deep, and a projected waiting time of two plus years, these days landing your very own plot in the Glover Park Community Garden is tougher than sniping Redskins season tickets.

"Luckily we got on the list when it was pretty short, so we only waited one season," says local gardener Theresa Trainor as she picked vegetables and weeded with her young daughter Sylvia, who's quite generous in offering fresh pickings to strangers. "And we haven't looked back," adds Trainor.

"We love organic vegetables and healthy greens, so I can't imagine living without the garden."

Glover Archbold Community Garden is a powerful reminder of what happens when a community really acts and operates like a community. Although many of the garden plots are locked and chained, compost bins are shared, and tools and advice are freely exchanged.

Once a victory garden constructed during World War II, Glover Archbold Garden is not just a symbol of community, but one of longevity, passed down through the caring hands generation after generation.

Many of the plots are outfitted with umbrellas and chairs, and on the weekends the garden is not only a place of harvest, but one of social interaction. What's better than a little dirt on one hand and a cocktail in the other?

Dino Kraniotis, the Garden Manager and President of Glover Park Community Garden Association (GPCGA), has been gardening in Glover Archbold for over thirty years, and at age 66 is still going strong: gardening by day, professional musician by night. "He's here almost every single day," says Trainor, "but I think he has a big concert tonight."

A lot of the District can be either impersonal or impenetrable, but Glover Park and its gigantic community garden offer a respite from the anonymity. Come by any Saturday or Sunday morning and you are bound to find not only rows of tomatoes, kale, bush beans, and peppers, but friendly chatter in a variety of languages, and a true sense of community. But be careful, with just one visit the wait list is likely to grow one name longer.