August 27, 2020

Maxwell Street Community Garden’s public art and accessible raised beds win praise

Contributed by Marsha Wyatt, co-president of Maxwell Street Community Garden

Maxwell Street Community Garden is in its second season at their new location on the NE corner of Racine and 13th Street diagonal to Fosco Park. They are at maximum capacity this year with a growing waitlist for next season after expanding the number of plots “farmed for the community” from two to six this season to provide more green tomatoes and fresh produce to their neighbors in the adjacent properties, in addition to an herb garden shared with members, neighbors, and Friends of the Garden.

In early March, the garden received a $5,000 grant from Chicago Housing Consulting Services (CHCS) towards transforming three concrete barriers in the garden into public art. Pilsen artist Anne Farley Gaines designed three mosaic murals, and progress is well underway on the first one in the Welcome Garden by the 13th Street gate. Students living nearby, having participated in other art programs led by Gaines for After School Matters and Jane Addams Center, are creating mosaics both at the garden and in kits at home on pre-cut masonry. Maxwell Street Community Garden is the first public art project funded by CHCS.

This was more than reason enough for Maxwell Street Community Garden to receive high praise from Lisa Roberson, Executive Administrator at Chicago Housing Authority, who came to tour their garden in June while she was in the neighborhood. She was awestruck and giddy with delight with what Maxwell Garden had created in the middle of the city. They have built ADA accessible tall raised beds that are a shining example for what all CHA Gardens should aspire to become.

Maxwell Street Community Garden invites everyone to visit the garden! For more info on material sources or methods, please email them at maxwellstreetgarden@gmail.com

Tips for Replicating Maxwell Street’s ADA Raised Bed:

Grade and level low-lying ground areas for accessibility
Create uniform beds 4’x4’ or 4’x8’ with steel corners for stability, longevity and accessibility
Consult about ADA walkway/other considerations such as and plants/seeds (Maxwell Street enlisted Christy Webber and Cook County Farm Bureau and IL Extension Service)
Install barrier fabric (12′ rolls) over the entire planted and main walk-way area as a weed barrier and as a barrier between original soil and soil for planting
Line beds with barrier fabric and staple inside
Fill the bottom 1/2 of high beds with organic, clean wood chips for better drainage and to conserve soil. Wood chips decompose over time; amend the soil in the bed. Add seasonal compost to “top off the bed” prior to planting.

Dedication of “Continuous Growth” Mural

Commander Gabriella Shemash of 012 District Chicago Police Department joined Marsha Wyatt, Garden co-president, Anne Farley Gaines, mural program director, gardeners and members of the community to “cut the ribbon” to dedicate the new Welcome Garden Mural “Continuous Growth” on August 11th.

This was the first of three murals to be created at The Maxwell Street Community Garden. Pilsen artist Anne Farley Gaines designed the Continuous Growth mural series last summer as a way to beautify the concrete barriers that were left on the property by CHA. With Anne’s help, MSCG applied for and secured a Grant from Chicago Housing Community Services (CHCS), a new arm of CHA, in spring of 2020 for $5000 to cover the cost of the first mural.

This is the first public art project funded by CHCS. Students who live nearby and worked on previous murals with Anne at Jane Addams Community Center on Loomis were selected to work on this project to teach them advanced mosaic skills. Students Andrew Epps, Brianna and Marshanda Norwood and Jade Shumpert worked individually and collaboratively, beginning with supplies at home in April during the shelter-in-place order and moving to the Garden in May. Cumulatively, the students worked over 200 hours, with Anne investing many more. Students were paid $10/hour for their efforts in this educational program.

The Garden’s partnership and friendship with 012 Community Policing is important, as our green space provides not only a place for members to grow fresh vegetables for their families and to share with our community neighbors, but a place where the community comes together to beautify the land through planting, growing, and now creating art. During the pandemic Maxwell Garden has provided a safe place for members, friends and neighbors to gather outdoors to visit or share a meal, for book clubs and other community organizations to meet in a safe, socially distanced manner. We’ve seen so many “new faces” this season as a result, have shared much knowledge about planting and our community giving, and have gained over 12 new “friends of the garden” – people who live nearby who joined simply to help out so they can be outdoors and share our green space.