Rotary Community Garden and Food Forest of Coral Springs

The members of the Rotary Coral Springs Community Garden and Food Forest were so thrilled to win the Broward County NatureScape Emerald Award for 2024! The NatureScape Emerald Award recognizes businesses, municipalities, schools, government facilities and ​homeowners that have created and maintained model Florida-friendly landscapes or completed exceptional projects that demonstrate visible ecological practices (e.g., non-cypress mulch, rain barrels, composting). There were 2 rounds of judging and award was announced on the Waters Matter Day. The banner is now proudly displayed outside the garden! Thank you to all of our dedicated gardeners and volunteers who have helped to create this wonderful oasis in our city.

There is an old proverb that says, “All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.” Gardeners gathered under the pavilion on Saturday, February 17th to learn the ins and outs of starting plants from seeds. It was a great turnout and after the class, participants started plants from seed for the Coral Springs Earth Fest in April, and for their own garden. Some of the plants they started were herbs-oregano, basil, parsley and garlic chives. Some were flowers, such as poppies, marigolds and cosmos and others were vegetables – Everglades tomatoes, okra, and Seminole pumpkin. There were smiles all around as everyone enjoyed the morning in the garden.

The Rotary Coral Springs Community Garden and Food Forest is the result of the cooperation and endless hours of hard work of many different people. Every person that gardened or volunteered has left an indelible mark that can be felt as you walk around and observe the beauty and life in the garden. To recognize the contributions over time, I thought it would be interesting to post this visual history.

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A master gardener told me once “Feed the soil, not the plant.” Wise words that many gardeners have followed. As the cost of fertilizers have increased, I was thrilled to come across the book, The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments. The amendments in the book promote the biological health of garden soil and are available from local sources. Some of these homemade amendments can also be made from waste-products (like weeds or fish scraps) that would otherwise end up unused. 

On January 17th, I shared some of the recipes for these homemade amendments with other gardeners. We each made a vinegar extraction of eggshells, fermented plant juice, and swamp water (a water extraction of plant minerals). Easy to make and apply, the amendments have sparked my interest to learn more. 

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Gardeners and volunteers worked together on Saturday morning weeding, planting and watering. It was great to see everyone in the garden at the beginning of our cooler weather season!

October 7th saw a wonderful turnout for the dedication of the new pavilion donated by Susan Connor in memory of her son, Kevin. Community garden members, the Coral Springs Rotary, and representatives of the city were present for the dedication. The pavilion will make it possible for education classes about gardening and information about nutrition. The expansion also adds additional garden beds for new gardeners, a space for children and more beds to grow food for donation.

In addition to the community garden, the site also includes a food forest and the Helena Ramsey Memorial. The community garden is a combined effort of the city, Rotary Club and volunteers. Volunteerism is one of the core values of the garden and the heart of its success.

Perfect timing! The rainy season is still upon us and due to the excellent work of Alberto and his brother, we now are now able to collect rainwater for the dry season. This project has been in the works for a while, and thanks to them, is finally completed.