Community Gardens: From Thrift to War to Urban Activism

My first exposure to community gardens was as someone growing up in a city, and later as a suburban apartment-dweller that refused to accept I wouldn’t be able to garden. You might think of community gardens as a recent invention brought about by more people living in cities, but the concept of community gardening dates way farther back! From local cities battling the effects of economic depression, to the government encouraging gardening as a patriotic act during wartime, to modern urban activism, community gardening has brought people together for the good of the community and farther afield.

Way Back When:

The first community gardens began in the 1890s, in Detroit. ‘The Panic of 1893’ brought about an economic depression that lasted about 4 years, and inspired the mayor of Detroit to turn vacant lots into gardens where unemployed workers could grow and sell food.

Smithsonian Gardens – ‘Community of Gardens’ exhibit

Minimalism: It’s Not About Owning the Least Stuff

How much I’ve packed so far for a house move in 1 week..there will be lots more

There is nothing that makes you take stock of everything you own so much as moving house. I have been moving every couple of years, and it does help immensely reduce the amount of clutter I own. I remember during my last move, I made the rookie mistake of leaving the kitchen for absolute last. I figure it would only take a few trips up and down the 3.5 flights of stairs to get everything out. WRONG. Already exhausted by moving everything else, I just didn’t have it in me to make that many trips. A fair amount of baking tins, dishes and more were left behind, and I wonder if they are still in use today by the proceeding tenants..

There are minimalist social media ‘celebrities’ out there, because of course there are. There is a trend among them of doing a show-and-tell style video showcasing the absurdly few amount of possessions they have (“Everything I Own – 30 Things”). As someone who considers herself a minimalist, I find this ridiculous on several levels.