It is harvest time in the garden. Berries and tomatoes are bursting and ready for plucking. The squash have exploded with growth. Lettuce has bolted and is showing its yellow flowers. Have you considered what could replace those plants? It is time to pull out those half-full seed packets. Get ready for a second harvest!

Spring is a time of returning sunshine, new beginnings, and getting our gardens started! While we're enjoying getting outside and preparing gardens now more than ever, we know it's important to be mindful of the critters who have been overwintering in this space. Here's some insight on spring gardening in harmony with native wildlife and plants from Urban Ecology Center Assistant Land Steward Drew Vandegrift.

For those of you who like to garden but do not have a yard of your own, we have raised beds for rent at Menomonee Valley in Three Bridges Park. Gardeners spend the summer gardening alongside their neighbors, lend a helping hand (or green thumb) to each other, share a potluck dinner, and grow spectacular produce!

Menomonee Valley Community Gardens Handbook

Manual de los Jardines Comunitarios en Menomonee Valley

Menomonee Valley Community Gardens FaQ

We also have garden plots at Riverside Park but those are currently full.  

Riverside Park Community Gardens Handbook

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For more information, including prices and availability, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at our Riverside Park branch or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in the Menomonee Valley.

Plots at Riverside Park measure 10 x 15 feet and are located along the Oak Leaf Trail.

Plots in the Menomonee Valley are located in Three Bridges Park, just a short walk from the center. There are two different sizes: 3 x 7.25 and 3 x 11.25

"When are the gardens going to be open?!" This is a question that the Menomonee Valley Young Scientists would ask last year over and over again. The roar and grumble of the tractor machinery was heard throughout Three Bridges Park as workers installed 40 raised garden beds and three arbors, airy structures that will support vine plants.

Five years ago, the Urban Ecology Center, the Menomonee Valley Partners, and Layton Boulevard West Neighbors gathered several groups of folks who live and work near the Menomonee Valley and shared with them a crazy idea — converting an old rail yard into a park. They asked the group: “what would you like to see in this park?” They received a lot of answers, but one thing that came up again and again was a desire for space to grow food. The neighborhood just south of the Menomonee Valley is the most densely populated area in the state, which means lots of people and little space for gardening.

If I had a car this would be the personalized license plate for me. It is perfect! If more people would only emulate me, the world would be a much better place don't you think? Am I being arrogant? Sure. Pompous? You bet. Conceited? Not in the slightest. Supercilious? Maybe . . . need to look that one up. But am I right? Absolutely!

Just to be clear, in case you are taking me seriously the last thing I really want is the world to truly emulate me. I'm as messed up a the best of us — just ask my family or my therapist. It would, however, be nice if a few more people chose to compost. Because when it comes to making dirt I am definitely emulatable (take that, spell check!)

I love late May and June. So much. The garden is begging to be planted and late May is typically when you are able to harvest your first salad/veggies from the garden. There is something so satisfying about being able to harvest and wash veggies that have been grown in your gardening space. Oddly, I have always found it kind of bittersweet too. Sowing, watering and weeding your plants as they grow connects you to them and that piece of land. When I harvest that plant, I am grateful but I also left wanting more...that is why succession planting is so fantastic!

Finally the weather has started to change for the better. Bloodroot, trout lily and other spring ephemerals are beginning to blossom. It is also the time of year when all gardeners are itchin’ to get their hands dirty.  Preparing your gardening space is the number one priority right now. In this blog post, I’ll let you know what I do to prepare my beds in early spring for plant success!

At this time of year when it seems like spring is never going to come, take heart in knowing that beneath the layers of straw, leaves and compost, little plants are beginning to pop out of the ground.