Aspen Farms
49th and Aspen Streets, West Philadelphia

"The key to the future of Aspen Farms and other community gardens is to engage younger folks in taking a more active leadership role."
—Hayward Ford, Aspen Farms Garden Club

Since the 1970s, Aspen Farms has been one of Philadelphia's most successful and enduring community gardens. Located in West Philadelphia's Mill Creek neighborhood, this garden was once the site of rowhomes and a dry cleaning business, both of which were demolished in 1965. The garden was established in 1975 under the sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Initially, Aspen Farm's fledgling group tended only a small area, but in two years, the garden doubled in size. By 1979, it had filled the entire vacant lot (28,400 square feet).

The continued success of Aspen Farms is primarily the result of its active leadership and well-organized garden club, which boasts over 40 members. Each member pays an annual fee of $10, with additional income generated through benefit dinners, casino trips, and donation—all of which help to defray Aspen Farms' operating costs. Over the years, members who have moved away from the Mill Creek neighborhood continue to return, and half are now commuters. Aspen Farms has been featured nationally on Good Morning America and in National Geographic. It also serves as an outdoor classroom for students from the Sulzberger and Martha Washington Middle Schools.

In recent years, Philadelphia Green has supported Aspen Farms through its Keystone Gardens Project, which assists large-scale, high profile gardens that occupy a special place in the city's community-gardening history. The gardeners have enjoyed fruitful partnerships with Penn State's Urban Gardening Program and the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Landscape Architecture.

"The key to the future of Aspen Farms and other community gardens is to engage younger folks in taking a more active leadership role," reflects garden club leader Hayward Ford. "For me, guiding the garden has been hard work, but a tremendously rewarding experience."