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Garden Plan Takes Root With Residents

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By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 9, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - A 2-year-old proposal to turn a patch of land along South Village Drive into an organic garden is inching toward fruition.

Hillsborough County commissioners approved a $340,000 deal Wednesday, transferring 3.3 acres from the water resource services department into county parkland.

The parcel, considered surplus acreage in the water department's inventory, will be turned over to the county's parks, recreation and conservation department and transformed into a community organic garden for Carrollwood Village residents.

The property is on the south side of South Village Drive, midway between West Village Drive and Casey Road.

Community leaders are forming a nonprofit group to oversee the garden's operations.

They plan to join with Sweetwater Organic Farm, a cooperative in Town 'N Country where members take part in growing organic fruits and vegetables, said Bill West, president of the Carrollwood Village Phase 3 Homeowners Association.

"The whole mission of Sweetwater will be the same as ours, to provide opportunities for education and community building in the form of gardening," he said.

Up to 2 acres of the property will be farmed, leaving the frontage along South Village Drive for a farmer's market, he said. West also envisions the garden as a community gathering place with small acoustical bands playing, yoga classes and school tours.

A community meeting is scheduled for March 11 to update residents on the project.

West hopes to have the first crops planted in spring and the first harvest in fall.

At Sweetwater, members support the farm with money, labor or both and get to pick up a portion of the fruits and vegetables during the harvest season.

West said that although the Carrollwood Village garden, to be called Vista Gardens, will be a separate entity, it will be set up similar to Sweetwater.

It will be working closely with local schools to teach organic farming, West said.

"It's an opportunity to utilize land to offer people another activity within Carrollwood Village," he said. "Old and young can come together to participate."

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

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