“HELLSTRIP” COMMUNITY GARDEN
It’s amazing how much joy you can get from adding just a small thing to your street, and how it can grow. To celebrate Earth Day, a few neighbors on Holden Street began planting wildflowers in the “Hellstrip,” that strip of neglected land between the sidewalk and the curb.
It was becoming a kind of community garden, tended by neighbors. Summer came and so did the flowers. Changing every day… new growth, new color, new shapes, bringing a smile, lifting spirits as you walk by.
Making your walk down the street just a little bit better is a small thing, but such a worthwhile thing, and that’s how it starts, a little bit at a time. Small steps. It may feel awkward at first, but this little bit of placemaking reminds us of how rewarding it can be to improve where you live, in any small way. It matters, even if it's very small.
….and you never know how it might grow, what you might set in motion.
The Hellstrip flowers of Holden Street have proliferated down the street and turned the corner.
We are all “placemakers.” It’s wonderful to feel the good feeling of giving, of venturing out of your comfort zone to offer something, to bring a smile. We can all “plant seeds that flower on our streets.”
