Treesort Excited to Launch New Community Garden Project
As a member of the—literally—growing Gainesville, Georgia community, Treesort has sought new ways to foster a sense of togetherness and create shared spaces for people to enjoy. That is exactly why we decided to create the Co-Hop, a community garden project launching this spring.
Community gardens play an important in bringing people together and promoting communal well-being. We had the joy of sitting down with the garden’s director and learning more about this exciting new project.
According to the owner, Steve McKibbon, “The Co-Hop community garden project is a way to foster a sense of community, promote sustainability, and provide our guests with the ability to grow their own fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, and/or flowers. Many of our guests love to garden but no longer have a place since they are downsizing their living space. The ability to garden at Treesort will give our guests more of a home feeling and hopefully expose new people to the love of gardening.”
The project will help make it easier for Treesort residents to spend some time outside, enjoying the beautiful Georgia sunshine. For the garden’s creator, this unique space has a personal meaning, as well, noting, “What initially inspired me was a scuppernong vine. Not just any vine, but a vine that has been in my family for over 150 years that was started by my ancestors in Alabama before the Civil War. As our family moved over the decades, cuttings from this vine came with them. The DNA of this vine was moved to Newnan, Georgia, more than 100 years ago, then to my grandparent’s house on Green Street Circle in the 1930s. In the 1970s, the vine was moved to my parents’ house on Dixon Drive. The last location of the vine was at my father’s warehouse on Murphy Blvd, which was sold in 2023. I could not part with this vine and have hired Deep Roots Landscaping to move it to Treesort.”
Currently, there is enough plot space for about one-quarter of Treesort residents to create a personal garden. This is unique opportunity that helps distinguish Treesort from some of the other gardens in the area, with the owner indicating, “No other apartment complex that we know of in Hall County offers their guests a place to have a personal garden. Treesort is not jammed into a small parcel of land where green space is the exception. We have a 22-acre campus where there is more green space than concrete and asphalt. A community garden is a natural extension of the ‘Treesort’ philosophy of green space and sustainability.”
In addition to being a great place to gather and meet new people, the community garden will also be an excellent location for Treesort to truly live out its founding values. Treesort is committed to being more than just an apartment complex; it is committed to being a home for its residents, complete with access to beautiful outdoor spaces and various sustainable features.
As the owner suggests, “Our garden plots will be ready for planting using organic soil and chemical-free deep-well water. I hope that our gardeners will create a sense of community where experienced gardeners will mentor first-time gardeners. Learning to grow your own food is a skill everyone needs to have. If Covid taught us anything, having the ability to feed your family with clean, pesticide-free food without relying on supply chain problems or geopolitics is very important. If the concept is very successful, Treesort has the area to increase the amount of garden plots available to our guests.”
The community garden is set to open in April 2024. Let’s grow together for many years to come!