A Bloomin' Success Story at the Library

The new community garden at the just goes to show that when a few like-minded partners focus on a project, the results can be amazing.

Not only has the garden bloomed in just eight months since the first planting party, it has become a lovely place to visit, read on a bench, study nature or just chill on a summer day.

“I think it’s great. Every community garden is an opportunity to show the community what can be done. The library should be applauded,” said John Horrell with the Garden Starts program at .

The garden had many partners. But it started with one very determined Petaluma newcomer, Leslie Goodrich, who moved here in 2007.

“The first thing I did when we arrived was go get my library card. Then I started noticing the front area full of weeds, gophers. It was very scruffy. I started writing letters suggesting a community garden project,” she said.

But these things can take time. Starting last September, regular meetings were taking place to create a low water usage, low care, vegetable growing garden at the library.

“To have some credibility in the process, I had become a Master Gardener by 2010," says Goodrich, who is also the President of the Petaluma Garden Club, the oldest and largest such club in Sonoma County.

Many groups and businesses became involved in the project including Petaluma Bounty, Intelisys Corp, which donated money and a volunteer team, along with Friedman’s, and Petaluma sustainability group . 

As the garden was established this spring, the Girl Scouts of Greater Petaluma came with donations and gloves to pitch in. Each Girl Scout earned her gardening badge that day.

“The donated all heirloom seeds, all organic,” said Goodrich. “The city of Petaluma really deserves a lot of credit, especially Dave Iribarne, head of Water Resources and Ron Irracola with Department of Parks and Recreation.”

The garden is blooming and several donated city benches along the paths has created a peaceful park for visitors.

“When you think of it, there are over 30,000 visitors to the library each month," said Petaluma Bounty's Horrell. "People are seeing for themselves that one squash plant can produce pounds and pounds of incredibly good food."

Horrell is quite excited about creating more community gardens in town.

“For the price of a two-dollar packet of lettuce seeds, a family could save upwards of $40 a month, if they grow their own food instead of buying a bag of mixed greens for four or five dollars,” he said.

“We can teach people how to grow a garden and eat well anywhere that is just grass, just lawn. Plus, it’s been proven that any where there is a community garden you have neighborhoods that are safer with less vandalism, less trouble.”

Leslie Goodrich agrees on good gardens contributing to good communities.

“When we started, several people worried about the homeless that are often near the library. What we found was that several of them actually took care of the garden during the coldest, wettest months. They watched over those seedlings,” she said.

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