Community Garden List

All of our community garden plots are ground level plots that are approximately 15 ft by 15 ft in size unless otherwise noted in the garden’s description.

2nd STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN

Plots: 16, grass and wood chip pathways
Location: 1270 S 2nd St W, truly a secret garden hidden off the corner of S 3rd Street W and Russell Street
Year: 2006

Highlights: Shared hoses, compost system, picnic area, native plant garden, two raspberry patches, and community herb garden.

Jason Kiely and Gita Saedi Kiely helped start this garden when they first moved to the neighborhood and found an unused lot behind their house. With only a $3,000 neighborhood grant and a lot of elbow grease, neighbors and Garden City Harvest turned a patch of weeds maintained by Public Works into a vibrant, growing space for the neighborhood.

ASUM Community Garden

Plots: 70, grass pathways
Location: 3050 S Higgins Ave, behind UM’s Lewis and Clark Village apartments

Year: 1996
Highlights: Sitting at the base of Mount Sentinel, this garden has a picnic gathering space, a well-loved and tended community raspberry patch, Food Aid plots, compost system, and (shh, don’t tell anyone) automatic overhead watering; close to the University, Pattee Canyon and Mt. Sentinel trails.

Created in partnership with Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM), this community garden is one of the oldest and biggest in Missoula. This garden started as part of the ASUM Garden Club in the early 1990’s and used to be located where the University soccer fields are now. The garden moved to its current location in 1996. Garden City Harvest took over management in 1998 and opened the garden to all Missoulians.

Bitterroot Line Community Garden

Plots: 35 total including 10 ft x 10 ft ground level plots and four pairs of 10 ft x 4 ft ADA-accessible raised beds, crushed rock pathways
Location: 2150 S Johnson Street, at the Montana Rail Link Park, along the Bitterroot Branch walking and biking trail
Year: 2019

Highlights: Shared hoses, picnic area, productive community raspberry patch (so much so that it is growing outside the garden fence to feed those waiting at the bus stop), compost system, adjacent dog park, playground and sport fields.

At the request of our Franklin to Fort and Southgate Triangle neighbors, this garden was built in 2018 thanks to the help of the City of Missoula Parks and Recreation, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, and many volunteers. In an effort to build as many garden plots as we could (and offer a garden plot to as many folks as we could), the garden plots here are smaller than many found at our other community garden sites and considered “half plots.”

IVY street Community garden

Plots: 16 including two pairs of ADA accessible raised beds, crushed rock and gravel pathways
Location: 870 Ivy Street, corner of Ivy, Marshall and Franklin Streets in the Slant Street neighborhood
Year: 2015

Highlights: Shaded picnic area, compost system, perennial and native plants, Little Free Pantry, prolific community raspberry patch and (shh, don’t tell anyone) personal hose bibs at every garden plot!

Partnering with the great folks at Nature’s Best, City of Missoula Parks and Recreation, and the Rose Park Neighborhood Council, we were able to build this small oasis on underused City of Missoula park land. This little corner offers a place for the community to gather, garden together, or simply enjoy as they pass by.

Meadow Hill Community Garden

Plots: 45 including five half-sized plots, grass pathways
Location: 4319 24th Ave, behind Meadow Hill School. This garden is located at the base of the South Hills near South Reserve Street and is recommended for any potential gardeners living in the Bitterroot Valley and commuting to Missoula.
Year: 2006

Highlights: Multiple prolific community raspberry patches, fruit trees, herb garden, large compost system, shaded picnic area under a pergola with hop vines, shared hoses.

Meadow Hill Community Garden originated as a community garden and outdoor classroom and was the first school garden in Missoula. Nowadays, this garden operates mostly as a community garden, but maintains it’s whimsical charm as an outdoor classroom, where community members, young and old, can come together to work and learn.

MILWAUKEE TRAIL GARDEN

Plots: 26 including two ADA accessible raised beds and two half-sized plots, grass pathways
Location: 1600 Milwaukee Way, tucked within the Corso Apartment complex and bordered by the Milwaukee Trail walking and biking path, south of Russell Street
Year: 2014

Highlights: Picnic area and shade sail, compost system, quaint raspberry patch with local art, perennial pollinator-friendly flower border, shared hoses.

The creation of this space was the first time a community garden fulfilled the park requirement for a new development in Missoula. It sits on an easement with the City of Missoula and offers garden plots to Missoulians of all walks of life. Thanks to Farran Realty Partners and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency for helping us build this garden.

NORTHSIDE COMMUNITY GARDEN

Plots: 98, including three half-sized plots, grass and wood chip pathways
Location: 650 Cooley Street, at the intersection of Cooley Street and Holmes Street in the Northside neighborhood
Year: 1970

Highlights: Several picnic areas, large shade sail, kids play area, large community berry patch and rhubarb patch, apricot tree, neighborhood Giving Garden, Little Free Pantry, large scale composting system, a communal solar dehydrator, and shared hoses. Although the patchwork of plots are a little shy of the standard 15 ft x 15 ft plot, gardeners say: “what you lack in size, you make up for in depth of dark, rich soil.”

Started by Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD) and a group of neighbors on the Helena Catholic Diocese’s land, this community garden is the oldest and largest in Missoula. Garden City Harvest began managing it in 1998 and expanded the thriving urban garden in 2015 to take up most of a city block!

ORCHARD GARDENS COMMUNITY GARDEN

Plots: 8 including one plot with raised beds, grass pathways
Location: 210 North Grove Street, adjacent to Orchard Gardens Apartments, tucked away off the corner of Reserve Street and S 3rd Street W at the far west end of the Milwaukee Trail walking and biking path
Year: 2005

Highlights: This is the smallest community garden but shares land with Garden City Harvest’s Orchard Gardens Farm and Orchard. Combined, it is a lush 1.5 acres. Compost system, shared hoses, and farm staff available for questions and growing tips!

This farm and garden was created in partnership with Homeword in the Orchard Homes neighborhood. A parking lot was planned where the garden and farm now grow in the original plans for the affordable housing complex. However, knowing the rich agricultural history of the neighborhood, Homeword wanted to create a sustainable food system on site and asked Garden City Harvest to build a farm and community garden. The parking garage was built underground, beneath the main apartment building.

River Road Community Garden

Plots: 55, grass pathways
Location:1657 River Road, just southwest of the Russell Street Bridge
Year: 1997

Highlights: Shares land with Garden City Harvest’s River Road Farm, Main Office, and Community Barn; shared hoses, large-scale farm compost system, community solar dehydrator, native plants, annual flower patches, U-pick raspberry patch, chickens, porch swing and picnic area, and farm staff available for questions and growing tips!

This is where it all began for Garden City Harvest. What began as a small community garden has since expanded to 55 plots and a 3+ acre farm. A green oasis just off Russell Street, River Road bustles spring through fall with farmers, staff, volunteers, community gardeners, CSA members, and a flock of chickens. In 2014, Garden City Harvest purchased River Road property thanks to generous donors and City of Missoula’s Open Space funding. This was the first time Open Space funding was used to help secure an urban farm and community garden!

roots off reserve community garden

Plots: 24, including four pairs of 15 ft x 4 ft ADA accessible raised beds, crushed rock pathways
Year: 2020

Location: 4795 Siren Road, across from Hellgate Elementary School
Highlights: Community raspberries, native currants and shrubs, picnic area, compost system, and (shh, don’t tell anyone) personal hose bibs at every garden plot!

Situated off North Reserve Street and Mullan Road, this community garden is open to all and was built to serve the expanding Captain John Mullan neighborhood which has deep agricultural roots.

PROVIDENCE Hospital GARDEN

Location: 206 N 2nd St W, located behind the Providence Hospital Center, tucked away from N Orange Street and I-90
Year: 2014

Highlights: Nine raised beds at both sitting and standing heights, crushed rock pathways, ADA accessible, covered picnic area, herb and vegetable gardens, native plant gardens, sensory gardens.

In partnership with St. Patrick Providence Hospital’s Sustainability program, an underutilized dirt patch/parking lot was transformed into a healing community garden. Garden City Harvest’s community garden staff plant, tend, and harvest food here for the Missoula Food Bank and others in need. In 2017, Garden City Harvest helped piloted the prescription produce program at this garden, which has since expanded to the Missoula Farmer’s Market. Garden City Harvest also hosts garden workshops and films garden tutorials here.

This garden does not function as a traditional community garden. Plots are not available for rent, but the garden is open to the public and all are welcome to come visit, rest, nibble, and learn. Volunteers also welcome.