Come get fresh with the locals and join us Sunday, Sept. 8 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to explore one of Atlanta's most eclectic and funky neighborhoods through the lens of food and community. The tour will highlight imaginative and sustainable landscapes that feature food gardens, native plants, exotic foods, farm animals, rainwater catchment systems, and much more. Public and private spaces will be featured including residential gardens and farms, community gardens, guerrilla orchards, and restaurants.
The tour includes a guided biking option, an herbal garden tonic/lemonade provided by Protea Wild Crafts, and a handmade popsicle by King of Pops. The tour will wrap up with refreshments in The Midway Pub Garden. Chef Travis McClellan and Herbalist Cara-Lee Scheinfeld will provide a seasonal snack and craft cocktail for all tour participants (non-alcoholic option available for kids etc)!
Come learn, be inspired, and gather tools and resources to transform your home or community space into a thriving edible landscape. This fundraiser supports the efforts of Community Farmers Markets which strengthen and improve access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food.
Please purchase tickets online.
More about the hosts:
The home of Glynis Ward: Welcome to "the Electric Garden" because it's such a bright and sunny space. It has been a Southern garden experiment for the last 15 years and is full of diverse organic life. No chemicals are used in the garden, and much of it has been grown from seed or cutting: fruit vegetable or flower, native and exotic. We compost, re-use and recycle, collect water, and have been slowly working to turn land devastated by pollution, drought and tornado into healthy, usable and sustainable land.
The home of Brooks Garcia: Brooks says he got into gardening "through the penal system." As a punishment for riding his bike through his neighbors flower beds, he was required to haul horse manure and work the garden. That woman became his surrogate grandmother and teacher which led to Brooks winning the Rich's Harvest Sweepstakes at 15. Gardening is an all-consuming passion for Brooks and sparked a profession and a lifelong pursuit. His garden includes many interesting architectural elements, unique native and exotic plants, fruit trees, a small green house, and fountains. Something is always flowering at this place!
Concrete Jungle's East Side Guerrilla Orchard: Located behind a vacant building, Concrete Jungle installed a community orchard contributing to their mission of feeding Atlanta's hungry and homeless with foraged fruit. The orchard includes figs, pomegranates, serviceberries, and pears plus small fruits including raspberries, blackberries, and Nanking cherries.
The home of Robby Astrove: When Robby and his wife moved into their home in 2009, three small trees and lots of grass is what they got. Together they have transformed the space into a food forest full of native plants, herbs, cut flowers, veggie beds, fruit trees, berry bushes and medicinal plants.
Burgess Peterson Academy: "Dig BPA" is the school garden club run by teachers, students, and community Master Gardeners. Started in 2009, the school garden includes several raised bed plots for each grade level, pollinator gardens, and a small greenhouse for seed germination. Out back in the outdoor classroom visit the fruit tree orchard, nature trail, and multi-use stage area where eating, learning, and inspiration overlap. The orchard includes quince trees, pomegranates, pears, and figs which all fruit in the fall when kiddos are in school. The EAV Farmers Market chef makes regular visits with students to reaffirm the connection of culinary, curriculum, and gardening.
The home of Hudson Rouse: Hudson Rouse is a farmer, chef, father, and vendor at the Grant Park Farmers Market with Ration & Dram. Growing where you are is what Hudson does best as he was exposed to growing and farming early on. Converting a grass yard into a productive and vibrant homestead is the story here and you'll see row crops, herbs, chickens, and fruit trees as the statement to live simple and local.
The home of Robert Hamilton: As a youth Robert helped his father grow food in the garden. He didn't like the heat or mosquitoes, but did enjoy the food that came from the yard. When a neighbor chastised him about trimming a huge holly bush he sought out something to give him encouragement and fascination with the natural world. Soon later, he decided to remove everything in the yard and grow edibles; that was the vision. Robert began to trial and test new and exotic fruits of all types which became a nerdy obsession. Kiwi, Jelly Palms, cherry trees, blueberries, and Persimmons is just a sample of what you will see. Robert soon ran out of space on his tiny acre lot as a result of nearly full grown trees. It's the good kind of crowded yardfull of food!
Friends of Brownwood Park Community Garden: The Brownwood Park Community Garden is the first garden to be established in a City of Atlanta Park and it keeps on growing In Partnership with Park Pride, this garden features raised beds and community plots, muscadine vines, blueberry patches, herb gardens, and a fruit tree orchard. Rain water is collected from the neighboring Recreation Center and many children are engaged here via the East Atlanta Kinds Club. This is how a community grows and celebrates food!
The Edible Learning Garden at East Atlanta Village Farmers Market: The Edible Learning Garden is a demonstration and teaching garden for the whole community to enjoy. The ELG features raised beds, herbs, pollinator and butterfly friendly natives, medicinal plants/herbs, and fruit trees. During the market you can take seasonal workshops and even help care for the plants. Dig in y'all!
The Midway Pub: Complete this Farewell to Summer Experience with refreshments in The Midway Pub Garden.Fresh-picked ingredients will be featured from each garden on the tour. A seasonal snack and craft cocktail will be provided.
The Midway Pub Garden was established early in 2009 through a simple effort to create more greenspace in East Atlanta. What began as a two-bed project, has now flourished into a mini sanctuary for restaurant staff, friends and neighbors. The plot boasts an array of culinary and medicinal herbs alongside encouraged wild edibles, fruit trees, berry bushes and seasonal produce. Chefs and bartenders are delighted by the availability of fresh-picked ingredients which are used weekly to enhance specialty plates and cocktails. The site remains a true testament to the fact that gardens really can be grown anywhere.
— East Atlanta Village Farmers Market
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