Community Garden Designs
400 Square Foot Meander
Here's an example of what your garden could look like. Get creative. Use our garden template to create your own design. These plants aren't like trees. You can dig them up and move them again later on, if you need to. Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good! It's okay to start with a basic design, plant the garden, and as you see how it looks, make some adjustments later on. The best time to dig and relocate plants are in the fall, after the fall frost (around November 20th).
This garden has 40 plants, 2 each of 20 types (all of these 25 plants, except Four-Nerve Daisy, Black Eyed Susan, Yellow Sundrop, Prairie Verbena, and New Gold Lantana). The garden is 16' x 25', drawn on paper as 8" x 12.5" (1" = 2 feet scale), with a 12" border all around the exterior of the garden of wood chip mulch to keep out weeds (~500 SF in total). It has about 100 SF of walkway (2.5-3' wide) and 300 SF planted. With 2" deep mulch, you'll need 83 cubic feet (3 cubic yards, or 6 cubic yards so you have extra mulch for next year).
We've designed the garden with the purpose of walking through, from either direction, with a meandering path to slow you down and take in the sights. As you enter the garden (bottom right), on your right is Catmint (S1), a low-growing (2' tall) long-blooming plant with many flowers for bees. Behind the catmint is the Copper Canyon Daisy (M11, 3' tall) which blooms in late fall and offers green leafy foliage from spring-fall that's very aromatic. Gregg's Mistflower comes next (M3), with blooms from spring through fall (requiring some maintenance to trim it back a few times a year), a fall favorite for the migrating Monarch butterfly. Then comes the Indigo Spires Salvia (T6), a bumblebee favorite with very tall, slender bloom spikes. In the back is the 5' tall Flame Acanthus (T1), for hummingbirds.
As the path curves to the left, there is Zexmenia (M7, in front of the Turks Cap), a 3' tall mounding plant with yellow blooms. Behind it is the Fall Obedient Plant (T4), blooming in late summer. White Yarrow (M4) provides white blooms in late spring. Dallas Red Lantana (M5) offers red blooms from spring through fall. Behind the lantana is the Pink Gaura (T5), with light pink blooms. Next is the Purple Coneflower (M2) for butterflies, in front of the Mexican Honeysuckle (T3) for hummingbirds. White Autumn Sage (M9) and Turks Cap (T2) are next, with Pink Skullcap (T2) in front for a low border. The final curve out of the garden is lined with Gray Goldenrod (M1), Rock Rose (M6), Mexican Oregano (M12), and Damianita (S3). Frogfruit (S4), not shown on the design, can be planted anywhere, to creep along the walkway, in both directions, with a thin, 12" tall border for small butterflies.
400 Square Foot Sitting Garden
This garden is the same size, with the same plants, but is designed with a 12' long area to sit, curving around the small planting area in the bottom middle area (with M2 at bottom, and M11 at top). A row of 12 tree stumps could be placed for children, or 6 park benches, to view the tall plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Or you could simply sit on the ground on the woodchip mulch.
Facing the garden, you'll notice the row of tall plants in the back (T1, T2, T5, and T4) which are Flame Acanthus and Turks Cap, both hummingbird attractors, and Pink Gaura and Fall Obedient Plant which are loved by bumblebees and butterflies. In front of this tall border is Dallas Red Lantana (M5), Mexican Honeysuckle (T3), and Indigo Spires Salvia (T6). Framing each side of the garden, along the entry pathways, are Gray Goldenrod (M1), Rock Rose (M6), Gregg's Mistflower (M3), Catmint (S1), and Mexican Oregano (M12). In the bottom center, there is Purple Coneflower (M2), Zexmenia (M7), White Yarrow (M4), White Autumn Sage (M9), and Copper Canyon Daisy (M11). For a low border along the entryway, Damianita (S3) and Pink Skullcap (S2). Frogfruit (S4), not shown, can be planted anywhere to trail 12" tall along the pathway.
760 Square Foot Meander
If you have a larger space available, find 7 other volunteers to join you and each pitch in $70 for a larger garden that's 23' by 33' and has 80 plants, 4 each of the same 20 types. With a 12" border around the exterior of the garden, to keep out weeds, 2" deep mulch requires 146 cubic feet (5.50 cubic yards).
As you enter the garden (from the bottom), you'll see Dallas Red Lantana (M5) and White Autumn Sage (M9), long-blooming red and white flowers. Gray Goldenrod (M1), blooming in late summer, and Turks Cap (T2) are behind these. Gregg's Mistflower (M3), Flame Acanthus (T1), and Rock Rose (M6) complete the 1st half of the garden, with Frogfruit (S4) crawling along the walkway for a 12" tall thin border, alongside White Yarrow (M4).
Moving towards the exit of the garden is Indigo Spires (T6) and Fall Obedient Plant (T4), with Copper Canyon Daisy (M11) and Catmint (S1) in front. Next comes Mexican Honeysuckle (T3), Pink Gaura (T5), Zexmenia (M7), and Mexican Oregano (M12). Finishing the entry/exit is Purple Coneflower (M2), Damianita (S3) and Pink Skullcap (S2)
800 Square Foot Sitting Garden
A bit larger, at 25' by 32', this garden provides a 14' long seating area, facing an amphitheater-style planting area to showcase hummingbird and butterfly attracting blooms. (Be sure to orient the seating area facing East, so that the harsh afternoon sun is behind you and not in your face) With a 12" border around the exterior to keep out weeds, you'll need 153 cubic feet of mulch (5.7 cubic yards).
In the very back are the 5' tall Flame Acanthus (T1) and in front are 4' tall Turks Cap (T2), 3' tall Purple Coneflower (M2), 2' tall (when pruned a bit) Mexican Oregano (M12), and 2' tall Catmint (S1) and 12" tall Frogfruit (S4)......a descending wall of long-blooming plants for hummingbirds and butterflies.
On both sides of this central view are, from the back, Fall Obedient Plant (T4, 5'), Mexican Honeysuckle (T3, 4'), Indigo Spires Salvia (T6, 4'), Gregg's Mistflower (M3, 3'), Zexmenia (M7, 3'), Pink Gaura (T5, 5'), Rock Rose (M6, 4') Copper Canyon Daisy (M11, 3'), and Damianita (S3, 2'). Gray Goldenrod (M1, 3') and Dallas Red Lantana (M5, 3') frame the entrance. In the center, behind the 14' long seating area, all 3' or shorter is a row of White Autumn Sage (M9) and White Yarrow (M4), with Pink Skullcap (S2) on either side.
1000 Square Foot - Walkaround
Designed for walkthrough traffic, this mirror-image design gives visitors (during busy times) access from either direction to flow through the garden, or (when slower) visitors can circle around the entire garden. With about 40 feet of inner walkway, a group of kids can sit in the garden and observe from a variety of different angles. At 27' by 37', you'll need 1000 SF for this design. With a 12" border on the exterior to keep out weeds (1131 SF), you'll need 189 cubic feet of mulch (7 cubic yards).
As you face the entrance, you'll see the short, yellow-blooming Damianita (S3), with Turks Cap (T2), Pink Gaura (T5), and Flame Acanthus (T1) behind. Walking to the right, in the center garden you'll find Mexican Honeysuckle (T3), with Mexican Oregano (M12) in front, and a cluster of four Fall Obedient Plant (T4) in the background, framing the center of the space. The design repeats, mirrored.
From the entrance, walking to the right, on the outside border the design begins with Gregg's Mistflower (M3), Purple Coneflower (M2), and with Dallas Red Lantana (M5) in the background....all great for butterflies. Frogfruit (S4) creeps along the front border with 12" tall white blooms, with more white from the Yarrow (M4) and White Autumn Sage (M9) behind.
Catmint (S1) provides a 2' tall front border, with Gray Goldenrod (M1) at 3' behind, followed by Zexmenia (M7) at 3' tall with Rock Rose (M6) at 4' behind. More Frogfruit (S4) with another White Autumn Sage, and Pink Skullcap (S2) at 12" and Indigo Spires Salvia (T6) behind at 4'., and the entry/exit framed with Copper Canyon Daisy (M11) at 3'.