Ten years ago, the spot of land at Carmona Avenue and Boden Street was hardscrabble, unused and unsightly. So there was much to celebrate about the changes in the last decade, because that land is now a vibrant and productive teaching garden called LA Green Grounds.

Supporters and gardeners from 2016 to the present celebrated last month with a party. Guests ate and looked around at the favas, rosemary, sweet potatoes, greens, and beets, and the fig, pomegranate and loquat trees – among so much more living in the 5400-square-foot space.

“An edible garden can also be a beautiful garden,” said Florence Nishida, one of the founders and board chair of the nonprofit garden. “I hope you’ll agree with me.”

Garden neighbor Chris Mitchell agrees.

“It’s so appealing. I may not be a gardener – I’m a mechanic,” said Mitchell, who watches over the garden when it’s not staffed. Anyone can wander in and look around – there’s no fence. Mitchell said he doesn’t mind that “as long as they don’t mess it up.”

Nishida is always enthusiastic about LA Green Grounds, and relishes the chance to take visitors around for as long as they’ll stay. Or show them the pictures that document the garden’s history. She has devoted untold hours to the pesticide-free all-volunteer garden.

Steven Meeks, the manager of the Good Earth Community Garden that’s adjacent to LAGG, and worked with LA Green Grounds from the start, telling Nishida about the vacant land adjacent to the community garden he runs.

“If it weren’t for Steven, this garden would not be here,” Nishida said.

“It’s a little jewel in the neighborhood,” Meeks said, adding that Nishida is “the person I go to for answers,” and loves the often-long , scholarly replies.

On Jan. 2, 2016, Nishida and other volunteers took to the ground with pickaxes and shovels and wheelbarrows. They cleared the plot and then covered it a foot deep with city-supplied compost.

“You don’t need money” to start a garden like this one, Nishida said. “You need muscle power and you need friends.” And it doesn’t hurt to be able to plant year-round in sunny Southern California.

In the last decade, LA Green Grounds has held many beginner gardener classes and seminars on such topics as fermentation and butterflies.

Reprinted with permission from Substack's Farming in the City by Mary Macvean, 2/4/2026