Aspen Farms is a testament to the dedication, knowledge, and passion that exists within the Mill Creek community of West Philadelphia. In 1975, Esther Williams gathered neighbors to clean up a vacant lot across the street from her front door. That was the beginning, as community members started to transform a place of neglect into a community gem, the space evolved and grew over time into a stunning .65-acre community garden has been nationally recognized as a model of community planning and greening. Aspen Farms was permanently protected by NGT in 2003.
This past weekend, gardeners, neighbors, and friends gathered at Aspen Farms to celebrate the legacy that began 50 years ago. Guests shared stories, a potluck meal, and a bountiful harvest picked for all to enjoy. They also designed custom shirts to commemorate the event.
Walk, bike or drive by 49th and Aspen and you can’t help but notice the large mural that serves as its backdrop. The painting, a partnership with the Mural Arts done in the 80s, depicts farm life with a barn, cows grazing and horses playing in a pasture.
That’s just one of the ways Aspen Farms draws you in. Today, the spacious garden has 30 large, raised beds where gardeners tend crops, including elevated garden beds for elders and disabled gardeners. An herbalist collective tends two beds with medicinal plants. The gardeners also dedicates space to growing fruits and vegetables for donation through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s (PHS) City Harvest Program.
“It’s real therapy–you don’t have to take medicine when you’re gardening”, said one Aspen gardener. “This is magic therapy. It would hurt if I didn’t do anything.”, agreed another.
The gardeners enjoy engaging with their community and bringing them into the fold of what makes Aspen so special. Connecting with the youth is a priority for them because it provides an opportunity to pass down stories, traditions and education. Local schools have hosted field trips to the garden, and the gardeners have also provided scholarships to students.
Aspen Farms provides space for a community-based nonprofit called A New Dawn to run programming for local youth. The program helps youth address stress and trauma through mentorship, hands-on training, and learning to grow fruits and vegetables and to engage in sustainable agriculture.
Aspen Farms was led by garden president Hayward Ford for over 30 years. Ford was a leader in the national community garden movement and Aspen Farms was recognized as an inspiring model for community greening and development which was featured in National Geographic magazine. Ford was also a founding board member of what is today the Neighborhood Gardens Trust.
“If you can’t improve each year, why be here?,” said Ford about his approach to the garden. That statement resonates with now President Wanda Scott. “We’re all here to learn, we want to keep improving for the next generation.”
In the late 1980s, the gardeners at Aspen Farms collaborated with students and faculty from the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning to carry out a landscape design plan which was implemented with longtime partners at the PHS Philadelphia Green Program, as part of the West Philadelphia Landscape Project.
PHS has continued to help support the garden with the installation of garden improvements over time, most recently a gazebo, new walkways with pervious pavers, and an ADA accessible gardening area.
From the joy, warmth, and pride that was so evident at their 50th anniversary celebration, it is clear that the magic of Aspen Farms will keep growing for the next 50 years.