Along with a longing to beautify the undeveloped, city-owned plot of land, the idea for such a project began with longtime Jefferson Park resident and organic gardener, Del Norwood, who would often find passersby stopping to admire her home garden. "Oh, I envy you so much," she recalled mostly senior citizens, who moved into condos and no longer possessed an area to garden, saying.



As a result, Norwood was willing to open up her space to others but reconsidered after imagining helpers falling on her property and other liabilities. She instead began reading about community gardens and realized that implementing one would be a good solution to satisfying the gardening desire.